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Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan seems unmoved by the idea that Amazon plans to transfer thousands of jobs to Bellevue, Wash.
GeekWire announced Wednesday that Amazon was moving its Seattle-based international operations team to Bellevue, nearby, in a major organizational change and a token gesture. Durkan was interviewed on the report in an interview with Seattle radio station KUOW.
Exclusive: Amazon moves thousands of employees out of Seattle and transfers its key division to a nearby city
"This is good news for the region," she said. "The more jobs we have in the region and the more diverse it is, the better for all of us. We have a housing affordability crisis, not just in Seattle, but everywhere. Talent breeds talent and I think it's a good thing for Seattle, a good thing for Bellevue. "
Amazon will begin moving its employees this month and expects the entire team to be in Bellevue by 2023.
"I am pleased to report that we are planning to migrate our international operations to Bellevue starting this year," Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Global Operations, wrote in an email sent to his employees on Wednesday and obtained by GeekWire. . "This move gives room to grow while maintaining the campus as a feeling we have come to love around South Lake Union."
Welcome to your home, Amazon: Mayor of Bellevue salutes Seattle's "transition" from Seattle to neighboring city
This announcement comes as tensions rise between Amazon and his hometown. Hostility came to a head last year when Seattle officials and activists demanded a big business tax to finance affordable housing, repeatedly carrying "Tax Amazon" signs on the company's campus. The tax was passed and was quickly repealed despite opposition from the business community.
During KUOW's interview Wednesday, host Bill Radke asked Durkan, "Have you helped drive out those Amazon employees by supporting the tax?"
In response, she suggested that Bellevue become the new site of Amazon's future "HQ2", whose company pulled out in January in response to stiff opposition from activists and officials.
"No, we helped create a branch in Bellevue instead of New York," said Durkan.
In fact, Amazon plans to disperse the 25,000 jobs it planned to create in New York at its other offices. The majority of new jobs in Bellevue will be existing Amazon employees currently working in Seattle. Amazon plans this relocation for a year, before the New York HQ2 drama unfolds, according to sources close to these plans.
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