VANCOUVER 鈥� 91原创鈥檚 tech sector is slated for another boost in jobs as Amazon expands its presence in the city.
The Seattle-based online retail giant posted nearly 100 91原创 jobs as part of its push onto the 91原创 tech scene 鈥� and a major move into the ultra-modern LEED-certified Telus Garden building may be next.
Such a move would greatly expand Amazon鈥檚 footprint in the city, which is now confined to a Yaletown development centre, one of just two in Canada.
鈥淎mazon 91原创 anticipates growing quickly,鈥� reads a notice on the development centre鈥檚 job site that advises more opportunities may be listed soon.
The technology jobs include roughly 70 software development engineers, a dozen program and product managers, and a handful of other highly skilled positions. The company鈥檚 91原创 office is slated to develop tools and applications for Amazon engineers.
The 91原创 Sun reported earlier this year that Amazon was looking to increase its presence in 91原创 and was considering space in Telus Garden.
Mayor Gregor Robertson tweeted that Amazon鈥檚 expansion was 鈥済reat news for 91原创.鈥�
鈥淍amazon coming to @TELUSgarden with space for 1,000 jobs!鈥� he tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
Robertson told The Sun in an emailed statement that the hiring spree was another strong example of how 91原创 was emerging as 鈥渁n innovation powerhouse.鈥�
鈥淎mazon creating such an impressive number of new jobs represents a major boost to 91原创鈥檚 economy and our city鈥檚 fast-growing technology sector,鈥� he said.
The addition of another 100 tech positions would put the Fortune 500 company among the 70 largest tech employers in B.C., according to a 2013 ranking by Business in 91原创 newspaper. For perspective, Electronic Arts lists 1,300 local employees, and Microsoft has 450.
Last week, Amazon held a hiring fair to fill an undisclosed number of positions at its Delta warehouse. The jobs were listed as paying up to $12.25 per hour.
Tech Vibes, a 91原创 technology news site, reported Tuesday that Amazon was planning to open office space with room for as many as 1,000 employees in Telus Garden, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum tower, citing an associate vice-president at Colliers International.
Amazon would take 91,000 square feet of the building at Georgia and Richards, according to the Colliers executive, with an option on another 156,000 square feet.
Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said he could not comment about future tenants in the Telus Garden building.
The $750-million development consists of a 22-storey office tower, adjoining 44-storey residential tower and supporting retail and commercial space to be completed in 2015.
It is being built by real estate developer Westbank, the same developer working on Calgary鈥檚 $400 million Telus Sky high-rise building in that city鈥檚 downtown core.
Amazon, which bills itself as 鈥渢he global leader in ecommerce,鈥� is an online retailing behemoth with $31.8 billion US in sales over the first six months of 2013. At the end of 2012, the company said in its annual report that it had 88,400 employees.
