The company has taken steps to deflect any narrative that it is withdrawing from a long-term position as an e-commerce leader by closing, canceling and delaying fulfillment centers and last-mile delivery stations across the US, which now encompasses 32 million square feet and is continuing to grow.
During a pandemic expansion that doubled Amazon’s logistics network’s size, to over 400 million square feet by the end of 2021, the e-commerce giant does not intend to abandon any of the locations it set aside for expansion. Despite laying off 18K workers last week, the Seattle-based company revealed last week that it would halt construction on the majority portion of its HQ2 project in Virginia as part of the laying off process. Any suggestion that Amazon has altered its plans for the 4,100 acres of land and property acquired during the pandemic seems particularly sensitive to Amazon.
MWPVL International, a logistics consultant who has been tracking Amazon’s sprawling logistics network for more than a decade, released a report last week criticized by Amazon as a new survey suggesting the latest tally of closures, 99 facilities in 30 states, had been padded.
960 Central Expressway was sold to Amazon for all-cash in an all-stock deal last year by Owens Corning Insulating Systems, which manufactured fiberglass, insulation, and roofing products. Since January of 2022, Amazon has started selling off some of the land and property it acquired during 2021’s non-stop acquisition spree.
In October 2021, Dermamody Properties purchased the four-building office campus from Amazon and plans to convert it into what was once Amazon’s original plan for the property: a 490K SF warehouse. When Milpitas granted industrial rights to the land, the e-commerce giant purchased the vacant 395K SF Metro Corporate Center for $123M in October 2021.
According to a SiliconValley report, Amazon issued WARN notices last month affecting 524 tech office jobs in the Bay Area.
Alexis Boutilier is from Vancouver, British Columbia. She has a high interest in all things tech and loves to stay engaged on all the latest appliances and accessories.