Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing, March 4 (Xinhua)-- e-commerce giant Amazon will suspend construction of its second headquarters near Washington, coinciding with the company's largest-ever layoffs and reassessing office needs to consider telecommuting.

Amazon suspending construction of HQ2 headquarters John Schutler, Amazon real estate director, confirmed the suspension of construction of the second headquarters in a statement. Schutler says the company remains committed to growth in Arlington, Virginia. Amazon has promised to invest $2.5 billion in Arlington (CTOnews.com Note: about 17.275 billion yuan) and employ about 25000 people by 2030. However, the suspension of construction will delay the company's full entry into the largest real estate project and could create problems for local developers and construction and service workers counting on Amazon's rapid expansion.

Amazon said the first phase of the new headquarters park, known as HQ2, is nearing completion and will be completed and put into use as planned. Amazon said it currently has more than 8000 employees in the region and expects to start moving them to two newly built office buildings in June, a 2.1 million-square-foot development known as Metropolitan Park.

Meanwhile, Amazon plans to close eight Go cashier-free convenience stores, including two in New York City, two in Seattle and four in San Francisco, which will close on April 1 this year. Amazon said it would work to help affected employees get other positions at the company.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been taking steps to cut spending on its grocery division and other divisions because of slowing sales and a deteriorating economic outlook. In January, the company said it would cut as many as 18000 employees, and its grocery business was also affected by some of the layoffs. The company experienced a period of rapid expansion, driven by a surge in e-commerce spending during the outbreak, but has cut back on warehouses and physical retail space in recent months.

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