Amazon has announced it will expand its Vancouver tech hub with a new office that will bring 3,000 new jobs to the city.
Amazon said the new 416,000 square foot tech hub, called the “Development Centre,” will be built on top of a re-developed post office building and is expected to open in 2022. The new positions will focus on ecommerce, cloud computing, and machine learning.
“Vancouver is home to an incredibly talented and diverse workforce, and these thousands of new employees will invent on behalf of our customers worldwide.”
“Amazon is excited to create 3,000 more highly-skilled jobs in Vancouver,” said Alexandre Gagnon, vice president of Amazon Canada and Amazon Mexico. “Vancouver is home to an incredibly talented and diverse workforce, and these thousands of new employees will invent on behalf of our customers worldwide.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the announcement, said Canadians are excited to see Amazon expand its presence across the country.
“Our vibrant cities, which are home to some of the best talent in the world, are poised to attract premier investment that creates the jobs of tomorrow,” said Trudeau. “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.”
Amazon currently employs over 6,000 people across Canada, with 1,000 of them based in Vancouver at the company’s Telus Garden location, which opened in 2015. In June 2017, Amazon opened a corporate office in Toronto and in November 2017, the company confirmed plans to open a second Vancouver office in 2020, bringing another 1,000 jobs to the city. Amazon said it expects to grow to 5,000 corporate employees in Vancouver in the coming years.
“With this bold investment, Vancouver just locked in the silver medal in the race for Amazon HQ2,” said Sean Elbe, Sector Development Manager, Technology at Vancouver Economic Commission. “And while these tech investments are important to Vancouver, there is lots of potential for a broader, long-term collaboration between Amazon and the existing ecosystem of digital entertainment & interactive industries. Vancouver is the third largest production hub in North America, the world’s leading VFX/Animation cluster and home to a surging AR/VR hub.”
Photo courtesy of Amazon.
