Amazon is significantly expanding its white-collar presence in Southern California, announcing office leases to accommodate 2,500 new corporate and technology jobs in Santa Monica, Irvine and San Diego.
The e-commerce giant said it has signed three leases, for a combined 439,000 square feet, for what it described as “tech hubs” in the three cities. The leases bring Amazon’s office footprint in Southern California to more than 1.5 million square feet, representing an increase of more than 40%, according to real estate brokerage data.
The Seattle company said it plans to recruit locally for jobs in various areas, including retail, operations, gaming and web services. Specific roles include software development engineers, game designers and user experience designers.
The three offices are the latest in a flurry of sites Amazon has opened over the last two years to handle the surge in demand from homebound consumers during the pandemic. Last week, the company acknowledged that the hiring spree has left it with too many workers and too much warehouse space as it reported a $3.8-billion quarterly loss.