Amazon is pausing construction on its second headquarters, also known as HQ2, in Arlington, Virginia.
The e-commerce giant's real estate head, John Schoettler, said in a statement Friday that the company is delaying the groundbreaking of PenPlace, the second phase of its HQ2, for the foreseeable future. Metropolitan Park, the first phase, is slated to be completed on schedule and expected to open in June for the 8,000 employees who will work in the building.
"Since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we've decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit," said Schoettler. "Our second headquarters has always been a multiyear project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater capital region."
The construction delay was reported earlier Friday by Bloomberg.
Amazon in July paused construction on six office buildings across the US to assess how the designs would affect hybrid work, Reuters reported. Earlier this year, the company also announced it would cut 18,000 jobs.
Amazon spokesperson Zach Goldsztejn said the groundbreaking delay on HQ2 isn't indicative of nor the result of job cuts.
HQ2 was originally slated for construction in Long Island City, New York, but the development faced pushback from protesters and local politicians in 2019. So Amazon went with Arlington, Virginia, right outside of Washington, DC, for its second headquarters instead.