Amazon Thinks It Will Need More — Not Fewer — Offices In Big Cities

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People stand in the lobby of Amazon offices in New York in January 2019. At a time of mass work from home and many moving to spacious suburbs, Amazon is funding a large expansion of corporate real estate and jobs in New York and five other U.S. cities.

Mark Lennihan/AP

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Mark Lennihan/AP

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In New York City, where Amazon famously abandoned its plan for a second headquarters, the company now says it plans 2,000 new jobs. It bought the Lord & Taylor flagship building after WeWork’s failed attempt to turn the historic space into its own headquarters.

The big expansion comes after Amazon — famous for reinvesting much of its cash — reported an eye-popping $5.2 billion in profits from surges in online shopping during the pandemic. Amazon is also rumored to be in talks with the biggest U.S. mall company to turn some department-store spaces into fulfillment centers.

Amazon has already grown to employ over 1 million permanent and temporary workers globally, mainly staffing its warehouses. On Tuesday, the company said the new corporate jobs will be across different parts of its operations, including the cloud-computing and grocery-delivery businesses, advertising, fashion and smart speakers.

Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s financial supporters.