Kurt Knutsson, known as ‘The Cyber Guy’, provides insight into the possible bidding war over TikTok and reports that Amazon could place persecution centers in empty, closed department stores in Simon Property Group shopping centers.
Amazon is taking steps to allow employees at its Seattle headquarters the option to work outside the city, weeks after a new local employer tax was passed and the coronavirus pandemic affected corporate office plans.
The company sent a message to Seattle employees Thursday, asking which communities in the city’s suburbs they want.
Among the ideas for new, smaller locations for office space included Redmond, where Microsoft’s headquarters are located at Microsoft, Tacoma, Renton, and Bothell / Woodinville.
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“GREF (Global Real Estate and Facilities) is always exploring real estate options to support our diverse and growing population, and is considering new locations in the Puget Sound region (near Seattle and Bellevue),” the report read, according to a copy received by USA Today.
Amazon is taking steps to allow employees at its Seattle headquarters the option to work outside the city. (Toby Scott / Echoes Wire / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
The question was also asked by Kason’s radio host Jason Rantz.
Amazon, which has about 50,000 people in Seattle, announced in February that it plans to create more than 15,000 jobs in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, where it opened its first office in 2017.
Bloomberg first reported on Thursday that Amazon has considered building more satellite offices outside the Seattle borders for the pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic and shift to work from home has caused many companies to re-evaluate their office space.
Amazon’s headquarters will be empty on March 10, 2020 in downtown Seattle, Washington. In response to the outbreak of coronavirus, (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)
Amazon advised all employees at its Seattle headquarters to work from home since the pandemic struck in March, making much of downtown downtown almost illegal for people.
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Another Puget Sound company, outdoor retailer REI, announced last week that it was advancing its new business campus in Bellevue with a view to shifting to a “less centralized approach” to its presence in the Seattle area.
Amazon has around 50,000 people in Seattle, where its world office is based. (Getty Images)
But KTTH-Radio reported that Amazon is tired of attitudes by the Seattle City Council toward the company, including another tax passed earlier this summer.
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The Seattle City Council passed a tax measure in July requiring companies with at least $ 7 million in annual payroll costs 0.7% to 2.4% on the amount they pay Seattle employees, with tiers based on individual salary amounts above $ 150,000.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 3,148.02 | -13.00 | -0.41% |
The “JumpStart” tax was aimed at allocating $ 500 million a year to “help up to 100,000 working-class households” affected by COVID-19.
The tax would also “fund social housing and the Green New Deal to address the city’s critical housing crisis and climate crisis,” councilor Kshama Sawant wrote in an April press release. It would also raise money for construction and renovation projects that “could create and support thousands of well-paying unions in the coming years.”
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An Amazon employee talks about the condition of anonymity told KTTH on Friday after violent protests this summer, constant political attacks on the company, and the new tax has created conditions that would have “certainly” made them look elsewhere than Seattle .
Graffiti reads “Death to Bezos” on the pop-up window of the Amazon Go supermarket store in reference to founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Seattle. Protesters broke windows at the store earlier in the afternoon. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)
“Amazon seems to be evaluating the possibilities for relocation from Seattle as needed,” the employee told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. ‘I think it’s clear to everyone who lives in Seattle that our local officials only know how to blame others for problems that our city’s public policy has created. The success of Amazon despite the failures of the Seattle city government makes Amazon an easy target if they are looking for someone to blame. “
The Seattle Times reported that an Amazon source downplayed the reports of moving out of Seattle, saying that Amazon workers were only asked about other work locations as part of a routine investigation.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request from FOX Business.
FOX Business’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
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