Amazon, Seattle's biggest employer, has dramatically reduced the number of job openings in its hometown after more than doubling its staffing over the past four years, according to data analyzed by the Seattle Times. The e-commerce company was advertising 3,503 openings as of last Friday, down from more than 9,000 in June.
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Amazon has selected a site in the business district of its Seattle hometown for the second location of its checkout-free Go store, which is set to open this fall. The first Go store, which uses cameras and other technology to track what customers pick up, has been open to the public since January.
Amazon has posted openings for upwards of 1,200 new Seattle-based jobs since saying it would consider shrinking in its hometown in response to a new city tax on large employers. The company's employee rosters stands at more than 45,000 employees in Seattle and the company leases about 6 million square feet of commercial space.
Amazon has plans to open up to six of its Amazon Go concept convenience stores in the coming year, according to reports. Seattle and Los Angeles are reportedly in the running for locations of the store, with Amazon identifying three possible sites in its hometown of Seattle.
Amazon has been operating out of its 11-building campus in Seattle's South Lake Union area for a decade. The e-commerce giant has made its mark on the city over the last 10 years, growing to more than 40,000 employees who work across 37 offices in Seattle, with plans to replicate the operation in another city that the company will choose next year.
Amazon's Treasure Truck, which travels through neighborhoods selling one product at a time at a discounted price, will expand beyond Seattle, the company said. Customers who sign up for notifications will get a text when the truck rolls into town, and they can buy the item through the Amazon app and stop by the truck to pick it up.