A few years ago, Amazon made big news that it would be creating a second headquarters called HQ2. This would be built in Virginia and help Amazon operations move some of its operations out of Seattle, Washinton.
Now according to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon has stopped construction of its second headquarters. This comes as the company has started to reevaluate its plans as growth has slowed in a post-pandemic world.
Originally Amazon’s HQ2 was scheduled for groundbreaking earlier this year, but now it has been indefinitely postponed. The HQ2 is not the only thing delayed, as over the last few years, Amazon retail building plans have slowed, and some stores closed. Amazon’s new CEO did recently say they do plan to expand its physical retail footprint in the years to come.
This news comes as Amazon has also started to lay off staff as it tries to cut costs.
Amazon has recently faced slower growth as millions of Americans that turned to online shopping during the pandemic have now started to return to stores. Amazon is not alone in seeing slower online growth, as Walmart has also reported commerce growth slower than it has seen in previous years.
Amazon has made it clear that the HQ2 plans are not dead but for now they are on hold.