Amazon suspends construction of second phase of Virginia headquarters

Amazon is suspending construction of its second Virginia headquarters following the biggest series of layoffs in the company’s history and the changing landscape of remote work.

The Seattle-based company is postponing the start of construction on PenPlace, the second phase of its Northern Virginia headquarters, Amazon real estate chief John Schottler said in a statement. He said the company has already hired more than 8,000 employees and will welcome them to the Met Park campus, the first phase of development, when it opens this June.

“We are always evaluating space plans to ensure they meet the needs of our business and create a great employee experience, and as Met Park will have room to accommodate over 14,000 employees, we have decided to move PenPlace’s groundbreaking work (phase two of HQ2) a bit lagged behind,” Schottler said.

In February 2021, Amazon announced plans to build an eye-catching 350-foot Helix tower to anchor the second phase of their redevelopment plans. Once completed, the new office towers were expected to host more than 25,000 workers.