BANGALURU/NEW DELHI, 18 November (H.S.): Amazon India’s plan to move out of the World Trade Centre, where it occupies nearly half a million square feet of office space across eighteen of the thirty-floor building owned by Brigade Enterprises Ltd, raises questions about how the publicly-traded real estate developer would find a new tenant and on the rental income of adjoining flats. According to two company executives, Amazon’s new office in Sattva, a 15-minute drive from the airport on the city’s outskirts, is expected to cost less than a third of the nearly ₹250 per sq. ft. of rent the company currently pays.The relocation is expected to start in April next year and be completed by April 2026.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the development. “At Amazon, we continually evaluate options which are conducive to our business strategy and take actions to bring the best value for our employees and customers. We are excited for our upcoming move to a new campus, a state-of-the-art facility designed to foster enhanced collaboration and deliver an unparalleled employee experience,” said a spokesperson for the company, declining to share details.
Brigade said that Amazon has not ended its lease agreement with the company.“Amazon could’ve signed up additional space at a development on the Bellary Road (Airport Road), but there is certainly no ending of our agreement with them in World Trade Centre, Bangalore or our engagement with Amazon otherwise,” said a spokesperson for Brigade.
Nestled in the city’s first integrated complex, Brigade Gateway, Amazon’s current office is housed in a 40-acre complex with over 1,200 residential flats, a shopping complex, a five-star hotel, a hospital, and a school. The residential complex has a club, a jogging track, and other sporting facilities for the residents.These services encouraged many of the 5,000 Amazon employees at its WTC office to live nearby. According to the two executives, Amazon’s employees occupy a fourth of the complex’s flats.
Amazon’s planned relocation to a building owned by Sattva, owned by Salarpuria group, the Kolkata-based privately-held real estate developer, illustrates Big Tech firms’ challenges and highlights the city’s new growth. Until 2019, a booming global economy and near-zero interest rates allowed companies to focus on growth and hire tens of thousands. However, since 2022, as pandemic-induced lockdowns lifted and people started coming back to work, the use of tech products reduced. Consequently, companies began cutting excessive flab: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta and Apple have cut over 110,000 jobs from their peaks in 2021 and 2022.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Nimish kumar