ARLINGTON, Va. - Amazon is pausing construction of its instant headquarters in Arlington, Virginia following the biggest round of layoffs in the company's history and shifting landscape of remote work.

The Seattle-based commercial is delaying the beginning of construction of PenPlace, the instant phase of its headquarters development in Northern Virginia, said John Schoettler, Amazon's real estate chief, in a statement. 

He said the business has already hired more than 8,000 employees and will welcome them to the Met Park campus, the first phase of development, when it opens this June.

"We're always evaluating place plans to make sure they fit our business has and to create a great experience for employees, and true Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we've decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the additional phase of HQ2) out a bit," Schoettler said.

Arlington County released the behind statement after Amazon's announcement:

"Arlington County values the ongoing partnership with Amazon over the creation of its second headquarters – HQ2 has always been a multi-year project, and it continues to be a long-term commitment to Arlington and Virginia. We're confident Amazon remains committed to the second phase of the project – PenPlace – and its benefits to the public, including affordable housing and the exciting partnership with Arlington Public Schools for the Community High School. We remain committed to working with Amazon in the ages ahead, and look forward to the opening of phase one – Met Park – later this year."

Amazon announced the plans in February 2021 for an eye-catching, 350-foot Helix tower to anchor the second phase of its redevelopment plans. 

The new workplace towers were expected to welcome more than 25,000 workers when complete.

You can read Schoettler's full statement on the building delay below:

"We've already hired more than 8,000 employees in HQ2 and we're angry to welcome them to our new Met Park campus this June. We're always evaluating place plans to make sure they fit our business has and to create a great experience for employees, and true Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we've decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the additional phase of HQ2) out a bit. Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region – which includes investing in affordable housing, funding computer science education in schools across the place, and supporting dozens of local nonprofits. We appreciate the help of all our partners and neighbors, and look onward to continuing to work together in the years ahead."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.