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Tag: Amazon.com Inc.

Samaritan House receives $1.25M Bezos-funded grant

Virginia Beach-based Samaritan House has received a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund, which was launched in 2018 by Amazon.com Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the organization announced Wednesday.

Samaritan House is one of 42 nonprofits across the country (and the only Virginia nonprofit) to receive a grant in the $2 billion fund’s third annual round of leadership awards. Bezos started the fund to assist families struggling with homelessness and to fund new preschools in low-income communities. Samaritan House will use the money to expand its services and make improvements to its shelters. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $105.9 million in grants in 2020.

Founded in 1984, Samaritan House provides shelter for people experiencing domestic violence or homelessness. The organization owns 14 safe houses and houses about 110 people a night, and its children’s program teaches young people about building healthy relationships, increasing their self-confidence, improving their academic performances and ultimately breaking the cycle of homelessness and violence.

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Amazon now a top 10 employer in three NoVa counties

Amazon.com Inc. became one of the top 10 employers in three Northern Virginia counties in 2020, according to fiscal year financial reports in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun.

In Fairfax, the e-tail giant ranks seventh among top principal employers, making up 1.17% of all county employees, which number between 5,000 and 9,999. In Loudoun, Amazon employs between 1,000 and 5,000 people and ranks No. 8 in the county’s top 10 principal employers, up from ninth in 2011. Amazon ranks eighth in Arlington as well, employing about 1,000 people as of the second quarter of 2020.

The company plans to employ approximately 25,000 in Arlington by 2030 at its HQ2 East Coast headquarters, which began construction this year. By next year, HQ2 is expected to have about 1,500 employees.

Aside from the $2.5 billion HQ2, Amazon employs 18,500 Virginians at its growing network of workplaces — 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations across the state, data centers in Loudoun and Fairfax, and operations facilities in the works in Hampton Roads.

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Amazon creating 200 more jobs in Hampton Roads

Amazon.com Inc. announced Tuesday it will open two additional delivery stations in Hampton Roads in 2021, creating more than 200 full- and part-time jobs. The ecommerce giant announced in March it would build two operations facilities in Hampton Roads (in Suffolk and Chesapeake), creating an expected 1,500 jobs.

The additional delivery stations announced Tuesday will be located in Hampton and Norfolk. The delivery station in Norfolk will be located on Sewells Point Road and the Hampton facility will be located in the long-vacant Kmart on Mercury Boulevard, which Amazon Logistics purchased with plans to convert it into a delivery station. At the delivery stations, employees will load packages received from nearby Amazon fulfillment centers and sorting centers into vehicles for customer delivery.

“This is a really great day for the city of Hampton,” Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck said in a statement. “To have this long-vacant eyesore being turned into an Amazon center with new jobs is beyond fantastic.”

Hampton’s economic development team has been working with Amazon on the project for the past year. 

“Amazon strongly believed in the site and worked very closely with our Hampton team on an incredible site plan that is going to transform the landscape, literally, along this stretch of Mercury Boulevard,” Hampton Economic Development Director Chuck Rigney said in a statement.

Amazon first came to Virginia in 2006 when it opened a fulfillment center in Sterling. The e-commerce giant now has 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations in Ashland, Chester, Frederick County, Dinwiddie County, Richmond, Springfield and Sterling. Since 2010, the company has created more than 18,500 jobs in the commonwealth and invested more than $20.6 billion across Virginia.

Construction started earlier this year on Amazon’s $2.5 billion HQ2, which is expected to add 25,000 jobs and more than 8 million square feet of development in Arlington’s Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard areas. 

 

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National Landing BID makes hires, promotions

The National Landing Business Improvement District (BID) announced Wednesday a slate of new hires and promotions, including two newly created vice president positions.

Ashley Forrester is the Arlington-based public-private partnership’s new vice president of marketing and communications, and Malaika Scriven is vice president of planning and development, posts recently created. Robert H. Mandle is now deputy executive director; Cassie Bate Hurley was named director of events and strategic partnerships, and Jasmine Gipson was appointed manager of planning and economic development.

Formerly the Crystal City BID, the organization now reflects the new name of the area encompassing Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, where Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters is currently under construction, as well as other significant developments.

Ashley Forrester

Forrester comes to the BID after serving as corporate director of communications and marketing at Events DC, which oversees conventions and sports at several Washington, D.C., venues, including the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Nationals Park. Scriven, who will join the organization in late December, recently served as the chief of staff at the Washington, D.C., Office of Planning.

Mandle joined the BID in 2007 and most recently served as its chief operating officer, while Hurley was the partnership’s senior events manager. Gipson joined the organization in 2019 as a planning and operations associate.

The BID plans to expand its team further in 2021, according to its statement.

 

 

 

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Amazon to donate $9M to NoVa nonprofits

Marking the second anniversary of the news that it would brings its East Coast headquarters to Virginia, Amazon.com Inc. will donate $9 million to several nonprofits in Northern Virginia, the company announced Monday. The gifts include $3.5 million to community organizations supporting small businesses and military families and $3 million to nonprofit legal services groups that work on housing issues.

Friday was the two-year anniversary of Amazon’s announcement of its plans to build its HQ2 headquarters in Arlington’s new National Landing area. The $2.5 billion project is expected to employ 25,000 people in the next 15 years. Amazon has already hired more than 1,000 people for HQ2, with 500 more hires planned for 2021. Construction started in February on the first of two office towers in the 2.1 million-square-foot Metropolitan Park complex, which is set to open by 2023.

“It’s an understatement to say how proud we are to be part of National Landing,” Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said in a statement. “To mark this milestone, we will donate $9 million to help support a broad range of local community organizations that make up the fabric of the diverse, vibrant region we now call home.”

According to the company, the donations are the result of community input and include the following gifts:

  • $3.5 million in gifts to community organizations across the region supporting sustainability, small businesses, military families and more; $750,000 will be given to each group
  • $3 million to Legal Services of Northern Virginia, Virginia Poverty Law Center, Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic and Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, with each receiving $750,000 for housing issues
  • $1 million to racial equity and community empowerment organizations, including Bridges to Independence, Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) and the Arlington Branch NAACP Scholarship Program
  • $1 million to community health facilities, including the Arlington Free Clinic, Alexandria Neighborhood Health, Children’s National Hospital and the Virginia Hospital Center
  • $500,000 to literacy and workforce training programs in the region, including La Cocina VA, D.C. Central Kitchen’s culinary job training program and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia

“This $3 million [housing] donation will quickly provide support to individuals and families who need help. Tenant rights are a particularly complicated issue right now, and families are facing innumerable challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Alice Shobe, director of Amazon in the Community, said in a statement.

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Amazon to donate $1M to NoVa schoolchildren amid pandemic

Arlington Public Schools announced Wednesday that e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., which is establishing its $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters in Arlington, will donate $1 million to support the needs of thousands of students from underserved Northern Virginia communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Communities In Schools NOVA will distribute Amazon’s donation through its Right Now Needs Fund, a flexible fund designed to meet schoolchildren’s basic needs, including food, clothing and school supplies across all 41 Arlington Public Schools and all 18 Alexandria City Public Schools.

“The start of this school year has been difficult for many families across our new home of Northern Virginia, and we are determined to provide support to the students who need it most,” Jay Carney, Amazon senior vice president of global corporate affairs, said in a statement. “At Amazon, we are always looking for innovative solutions to tough challenges, and we are confident that the flexibility and speed built into our new Right Now Needs Fund will help ensure that more students from under-served communities can focus on their studies, and not fall behind as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.”

Site coordinators and school social workers within each of the school districts and schools will work with families to identify student needs and request assistance from the fund. Communities In Schools NOVA will distribute prepaid payments designed specifically for education-related needs. Vouchers can be redeemed for items including food, school supplies for at-home learning, warm clothing and hygiene items.

“Communities In Schools NOVA appreciates the trust Amazon has placed in our ability to collaborate with schools and community partners on implementing the Right Now Needs Fund,” Patrick Brennan, Communities In Schools NOVA executive director, said in a statement. “Every student, regardless of circumstance, deserves a seamless system of support so they can stay in school and achieve in life.”

 

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Leidos subsidiary tapped to develop lunar landing system

Dynetics, a wholly owned aerospace subsidiary of Reston-based defense contractor Leidos, is one of three prime contractors awarded contracts by NASA to design the human lunar landing system that will take the first woman and next man to the moon’s surface by 2024. The other two aerospace companies are Amazon.com Inc. President and CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The total combined value of the awarded contracts is $967 million. Over a 10-month period, each of three companies will be developing competing designs for the human landing system for NASA’s Artemis program moon missions. One of the companies will be selected to build its lunar landing system.

“There’s really no more exciting mission than delivering humans to other planetary bodies,” Kim Doering, vice president of space systems for Huntsville, Alabama,-based Dynetics, said in a statement. “However, it’s also among the most challenging endeavors, particularly given the goal of landing on the moon in 2024. We believe Dynetics has the recipe for success.”

Dynetics’ concept is a single-stage system that will be launched on a NASA’s Space Launch System Block 1B vehicle or a Vulcan Centaur rocket, both of which are under development. It will have the ability to ferry two to four crew members back and forth from the lunar surface to orbit and can function as a surface habitat for a week. The company will have a long list of partners and subcontractors assisting it with designing the lunar landing system, including Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratory.

Formerly known as Science Applications International Corp., Leidos acquired Dynetics for $1.65 billion in February in an all-cash transaction. Dynetics is also delivering critical hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System Core Stage, Exploration Upper Stage and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle as well as the International Space Station.

“As a new member of the Leidos family, Dynetics continues to lead the industry with talented innovators eager to solve today’s complex problems,” said Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone. “NASA’s [human lunar landing system] is truly innovative and one that will revolutionize space travel. We are fully committed to this endeavor and proud to join the team returning Americans to the moon.”

Blue Origin is developing its three-stage lunar lander concept in cooperation with Lockheed Martin Corp., Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Draper Laboratory. SpaceX has been testing prototypes of its Starship landing system in Texas.

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Amazon.com Inc. hires 3.3k+ Virginians, more to come

Amazon.com Inc. has hired more than 3,300 employees in Virginia to meet the increased demand for home deliveries during the coronavirus crisis, the e-commerce giant announced Thursday. The hirings are part of Amazon’s initiative to create more than 100,000 full- and part-time jobs in the U.S. in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also more than double the number of Virginia jobs Amazon had anticipated to fill in mid-March.

The company also announced Thursday that it plans to create an additional 75,000 jobs on top of the previously announced 100,000, and it’s expected that 2,000 of those jobs will be filled in Virginia. 

“The demand we are seeing for essential products has been and remains high,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in his letter to shareholders released Thursday. “But unlike a predictable holiday surge, this spike occurred with little warning, creating major challenges for our suppliers and delivery network.”

Amazon operates a total of 10 fulfillment and sorting facilities in Ashland, Chester, Frederick County, Dinwiddie County, Richmond, Springfield and Sterling. On March 10, Amazon announced plans to build two additional facilities in Hampton Roads, creating an anticipated 1,500 jobs. And construction began earlier this year in Arlington County on Amazon’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters, which is expected to add 25,000 jobs and more than 8 million square feet of development to the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard areas.

The new Amazon hires in Virginia will fill a variety of positions, including picking, packing and shipping customer orders and groceries, and delivering packages, Amazon spokesperson Rachael Lighty says. The jobs in Virginia will be at Amazon’s fulfillment and sorting centers, delivery stations and Whole Foods Markets stores, she added. 

“Many of these new employees were impacted by layoffs related to COVID-19 and come from a variety of fields and life situations, including restaurant cooks, bartenders and servers, flight attendants, teachers, business owners, personal trainers, valet drivers, ride-share drivers, retirees, part-time workers whose jobs are now on hold, and people who just wanted to help out,” Lighty says. 

The jobs are available on a rolling basis — and they’re expected to be filled quickly, according to an Amazon spokesperson. Jobs start with a minimum pay of $17 per hour as well as health benefits, overtime and paid time off. This reflects a $2 hourly increase that will cost Amazon $500 million just through the end of April.  

“While we recognize this is expensive, we believe it’s the right thing to do under the circumstances,” Bezos said.

To abide by COVID-19 restrictions, new Amazon employees can attend orientation sessions virtually. Amazon employees might be expected in the future to adhere to COVID-19 testing at their work sites, even for those who show no symptoms, Bezos said.

JBG Smith gets green light for 300-foot-tall apartment towers in Crystal City

Bethesda, Maryland-based developer JBG Smith Properties has secured the final permissions from Arlington County for two, 300-foot-tall apartment towers in Crystal City near where the real estate company is developing and leasing space for Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

The mixed-use development at 1900 Crystal Drive will include 811 apartments and 40,000 square feet of street-level retail, divided between a 27-story southern tower with 472 apartments and a 26-story northern tower with 339 apartments. Plans also call for private rooftops and green spaces for residents as well as a central park space.

JBG Smith is building the project in the area of Crystal City encompassing HQ2 that it is branding as National Landing. The real estate firm is acting as the developer, leasing agent and property manager for Amazon HQ2.

“With Amazon employees already arriving in the area and many locals who want to live in a vibrant downtown, we are thrilled to reach this important milestone in National Landing’s ongoing development and transformation,” said Tony Greenberg, JBG Smith’s executive vice president of development, in a statement. “New apartments and street-level retail are essential for cultivating a thriving 18-hour environment where people can walk from their home or office to their favorite restaurants and amenities.”

Amazon warehouse worker in New York tests positive for COVID-19

Only two days after Amazon.com Inc. announced it would add 100,000 warehouse and delivery jobs — 1,400 of which are earmarked for Virginia — to combat coronavirus-related unemployment, a warehouse worker in its Queens, New York City, facility has tested positive for the virus.

Amazon has a total of 10 fulfillment and sortation facilities in Ashland, Chester, Frederick County, Dinwiddie County, Richmond, Springfield and Sterling, and on March 10 announced plans to build two additional facilities in Hampton Roads, creating an expected 1,500 jobs.

Workers at the facility were notified by text that someone at their place of work had tested positive for the illness Wednesday.

“All Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two-weeks of pay,” Amazon spokesperson Courtney Norman says. “This is in addition to unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees through the end of March.”

it is the first COVID-19 case Amazon has reported in its warehouse facilities.