Amazon Expanding In Pittsburgh, Will Double Number Of Jobs
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Amazon is expanding in Pittsburgh.
A total of 125 jobs are being added to its Tech Hub, and that has many people wondering whether this means the Steel City will be the home of Amazon's second headquarters?
This expansion is not an indicator of what may or may not happen with Amazon's second headquarters, or HQ2. However, Mayor Bill Peduto tells KDKA what we can expect to see is more companies coming to Pittsburgh and growing.
"They've definitely made it clear that it is not an indication of what they're considering for HQ2. However, it is a very strong indication of where Pittsburgh is now within the tech world," said Mayor Peduto.
Pittsburgh is a thriving, yet affordable city that's open for business.
"Amazon's commitment to another 125 jobs follows Uber's commitment to 800 jobs, Ford's commitment to over 250 jobs, Bosch, Tata, Apple, Intel, all of these companies that are now calling Pittsburgh home," said Mayor Peduto.
The hope is that plenty more will follow suit.
"As we see these companies taking a foothold in Pittsburgh, we notice almost all of them have grown," said Mayor Peduto.
Amazon's Tech Hub on the South Side is more than doubling its current workforce.
The company is making it crystal clear it has nothing to do with HQ2, by saying, "Today's announcement of the expansion of our Tech Hub in Pittsburgh is part of our ongoing job creation efforts and unrelated with our search for HQ2. With regards to HQ2, we have said multiple times that we expect to make a final decision in 2018."
No matter what happens in the HQ2 decision, Mayor Peduto expects Pittsburgh to see plenty more jobs.
"At least two other autonomous vehicle companies will be coming out to visit in the next few months. There are a number of other smaller tech firms that are looking for an East Coast presence that don't want to pay east coast real estate," said Mayor Peduto.
The mayor believes it's the combination of the price and the people that gives the Steel City a competitive advantage.
The size of Amazon's existing office is also expanding. The company is adding 22,000 square feet.
