Amazon AWS: Amazon Suspends It’s Headquarters Development in Northern Virginia

Amazon has temporarily halted the building of its massive new facility in Northern Virginia. Company officials stated that layoffs and the popularity of working from home were reasons for halting development. Metropolitan Park, a 2.1 million square foot building with two office towers, will be completed as part of the first phase of the Arlington project. More than 18,000 employees will be let go by the corporation. This should go live this summer; however, development on the second phase of "PenPlace" has been put on hold. The planned expansion included a new 2.8 million square foot complex with three office buildings, one of which, the 'Helix,' has been likened to the poop emoji because of its spiraling design. 

The county agreed to the location under the condition that Amazon obtains all necessary permits and finishes building by April 2025. In exchange for Amazon's promise to invest $2.5 billion and recruit approximately 25,000 people over 15 years, the government of Virginia has pledged roughly $800 million in tax incentives and infrastructure upgrades. As Amazon controversially played towns and states off against one another in 2017 to get the best deal for a second headquarters, the government stepped in with the tax benefits. The company finally decided to split its new headquarters between Virginia and New York, but the New York plan was scrapped due to local and governmental opposition. Amazon has put on hold office building projects in both Bellevue, Washington, and Nashville, Tennessee, as the company rethinks its strategy for the future of work. In a statement made last month, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that corporate staff would be expected to return to work at least three days each week.