Amazon.com Inc. expands its physical offices into six U.S. cities and adds thousands of business jobs in those areas, an indication that the tech giant is making long-term plans for office work, even if other businesses include continued remote employment.
Amazon is preparing to add 3,500 business jobs across hubs in New York, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Detroit and Dallas, the company said Tuesday. The plans include 2,000 jobs at the historic Manhattan building that once housed the flagship store Lord & Taylor. Amazon bought the Fifth Avenue building from retailer WeWork, a subsidiary of We Co., for more than $ 1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Seattle’s business plans contrast with those of some other major technology companies during the long-term coronavirus pandemic. That has Facebook Inc. included, who said in May that it would shift to a substantial workforce over the next few decades and Twitter Inc., which told employees they could work from home indefinitely.
Amazon, which was too early to send employees home when the pandemic hit, is hiring staff who can work from home until Jan. 8. However, the company expects many of its staff to be able to return to their offices one day, Workforce Development Vice President Ardine Williams said.
“The ability to connect with people, the ability for teams to work together in an ad hoc way – you can do it purely, but it’s not so spontaneous,” Ms Williams said in an interview. “We look forward to returning to the office.”
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