PHOTO: Artist rendering of the new Amazon headquarters in Vancouver. Courtesy of QuadReal Property Group.
Amazon has announced plans to expand its Vancouver tech hub with a new headquarters and create 3,000 high tech jobs for the city. The new jobs will be created in fields such as e-commerce technology, cloud computing, and machine learning.
“Canadians share your passion for invention and your commitment to excellence, and that’s why we are excited to see Amazon grow here in Vancouver,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while announcing the retail giant’s new expansion.
The new headquarter complex, which is expected to open in 2022, will be built in a former downtown Canada Post plant, a landmark building at 349 West Georgia Street where Monday’s announcement was made.
The new site is in addition to the company’s current Vancouver offices – including its TELUS Garden location, a 156,000 square-foot office space which opened in 2015.
Amazon, the Seattle-based online retailer opened its first software development site in Vancouver in 2011.
“We choose to build and grow in Canada because we recognize the diverse and exceptionally talented work force here,” said Jesse Dougherty, Amazon’s general manager of web services, in an announcement event also attended by Mr. Trudeau.
Dougherty noted that in the past Amazon has successfully hired Canadians who are experienced coders, university graduates, and also people who live and work in Canada.
“There are many reasons why industry giants like Amazon choose to settle and grow in Canada,” Mr. Trudeau said at a press conference on Monday. “Our workforce is highly educated, skilled and diverse. Folks across the country are ready to take on the jobs of tomorrow and help companies like yours shape the future, a future where innovation drives economic growth and helps improve the lives of middle class Canadians, and people working hard to join it.”
“I want to highlight Amazon’s commitment to recruiting top talent from our universities and give students the opportunity to have a direct impact on the evolution of their technologies at an early stage of their career.”
Amazon’s Canadian workforce expanding in Vancouver
As of now, approximately 6,000 people work for Amazon across Canada. Among them, 1,000 researchers and engineers are based at several sites in Vancouver, a city that is competing to be a high-tech hub.
That location and the new centre are only a few blocks apart from each other in Vancouver’s downtown.
Last November, Amazon confirmed plans to open another downtown site on Dunsmuir Street. The site, which is set open in 2020, is expected to bring another 1,000 jobs to the city.
Vancouver solicited a bid to host the online retailer’s proposed new corporate headquarters, HQ2, last year. Vancouver was promoted as the best value option with the best location for Amazon, because of its closeness to Seattle for what would be the company’s second North American base.
However, Vancouver eventually failed to make the short list of cities, with Toronto being the only Canadian city to make the first choice.
Amazon is expected to announce the opening of HQ2, sometime this year.
Click here if you’re interested in applying for open roles at Amazon’s new Tech Hub in Vancouver.
