Amazon.com plans to announce Monday that it is
opening a corporate office and technology hub in Detroit.
The company already has about 100 full-time
employees in its offices at 150 W. Jefferson and plans to expand its leased
office space further in early 2016. More details are to be announced at a
Monday morning press conference at Cobo Center.
"We are expanding to multiple floors in our
current building to accommodate the goals for our presence in Michigan and
hiring plans to bring the great local talent to Amazon," Peter Faricy,
vice president for Amazon Marketplace, said in an emailed statement to Crain's
Friday.
Faricy, a Detroit native, said the company has a
long-term plan to expand in the state and bring more high-tech jobs to the
city, adding that Michigan is "a rapidly growing technology
corridor." Amazon Marketplace is the e-commerce giant's service that lets
third parties sell items on Amazon's own website.
Paul Choukourian, managing director of the
Southfield office of Colliers International Inc., said Amazon, as a Fortune 50
company, making a commitment to downtown Detroit is "another excellent
indicator" for the city.
"Any time you see another big company like that
take a big presence or expand downtown, it's going to continue to snowball into
more activity," Choukourian said. "It's tremendous news."
The Detroit office already houses multiple Amazon
(Nasdaq: AMZN) employees and business teams in software development, engineering
and advertising sales.
In addition to the corporate expansion, Amazon is
announcing formalized support to Michigan and Detroit's STEM education efforts.
For example, Amazon is donating $10,000 and 30 Amazon Fire tablets to the
Carver STEM Academy program at Detroit Public Schools. The Carver STEM Academy
offers students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade a curriculum rich in
science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.
The presidents of Michigan State University,
University of Michigan and Wayne State University, along with Gov. Rick Snyder
and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan are expected to be on hand for the announcement.
"Amazon coming to Detroit complements Michigan
State's focus on preparing tomorrow's leaders to support the community, the
state and the world," said Lou Anna Simon, MSU president.
For several years, Faricy said, Amazon has had a
significant recruiting and internship relationship with universities in Michigan.
At the end of their internships at Amazon, students
present their work to Amazon executives and leadership while receiving
curriculum credit.
"We are incorporating education into our
unveiling event because Amazon believes in hiring the best talent, and that
starts with education," Faricy said.
Said Snyder in a statement: "Amazon plans a
commitment to developing talent, investing in high-tech jobs and keeping that
talent in-state.
This company will be a strong partner in growing our
talented workforce and opening up these great opportunities."
Amazon said job postings for Detroit will be at
amazon.com/careers.
The online retailer, founded in 1995, has a number
of businesses, from its original online shopping site to the Amazon Prime Video
streaming service to its Amazon Web Services unit that provides cloud computing
power to businesses and other organizations.
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