Amazon is in no rush to add workers in LIC and Arlington

Its Seattle employees won’t be required to relocate

Jeff Bezos and Long Island City (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)
Jeff Bezos and Long Island City (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)

Amazon caused a stir with its plan for two new campuses in Long Island City and Arlington — but don’t expect a quick move.

It will take several years, if not a decade, for the tech giant’s employees to shift into the new locations, the Wall Street Journal reported. Amazon said it plans to hire workers slowly and has told its Seattle employees that they won’t be required to relocate.

The company expects to have 700 employees in LIC next year and hit 25,000 by 2028, the report said. In Arlington, it will add 400 workers and reach half of its 25,000 target in seven years.

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Amazon said it will remodel its temporary offices before workers can move in. It could take two years to break ground on the New York campus, and a little less for Arlington, due to site approvals and other pre-construction work.

Amazon’s move has already created a frenzy in LIC’s real estate market, with brokers reporting an uptick in condo deals and a flood of interest from buyers. With plenty of projects still in the pipeline, brokerages and developers are banking on the tech giant giving a boost to a neighborhood that’s already seen a development boom. [WSJ] — Meenal Vamburkar