By Sam Boughedda
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is pausing construction of its second headquarters in Virginia, according to Bloomberg on Friday.
The e-commerce giant's decision coincides with significant job cuts at the company and a reassessment of office needs to account for remote work, the publication said.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Amazon's real estate chief John Schoettler confirmed the news. He stated that Amazon remains committed to Arlington, Virginia, where it has committed to spending $2.5 billion and hiring around 25,000 workers by 2030.
"Our second headquarters has always been a multiyear project," Schoettler said. "We remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region – which includes investing in affordable housing, funding computer science education in schools across the region, and supporting dozens of local nonprofits,"
However, the construction pause will delay the company's full arrival at the site, although the first phase of the campus, called HQ2, is nearly complete and will be finished and occupied as planned.
The delay has impacted a larger phase of the construction across the street, where it was set to build three 22-story office towers, a corporate conference center, and an indoor garden.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon says it now has over 8,000 workers in the area and anticipates moving those employees to two recently completed office towers in June.