Tens of thousands of Amazon employees are set to return full-time to the company's Seattle headquarters on Thursday, a development that is likely to cause additional headaches for drivers in the Emerald City.
As an estimated 50,000 Amazon employees reluctantly follow CEO Andy Jassy's directive to return to the office five days a week, state transportation officials are telling residents to prepare for traffic congestion in the new year. I am calling on you to do so.
“There's going to be a lot more people on the road, so that extra travel time has a real impact and people are taking extra time to get there,” said Aisha Dayal of the Washington State Department of Transportation. We need to secure it.” he told Fox 13 TV.
Bela Acolo, who drives to work in Seattle, said she is preparing for the worst.
“It's a reminder that yes, this is not going to be great,” Akolo told Fox 13.
Amazon is headquartered in downtown Seattle with satellite offices nearby at Metropolitan Park and the Urban Innovation Center.
The company also has an office in Bellevue, the Seattle suburb where Jeff Bezos founded the e-commerce giant.
Amazon's impact on local traffic is significant. When the company first brought employees back to the office three days a week in 2023, it 35% speed reduction I-90 is a major east-west highway that stretches from downtown Seattle to eastern Washington.
Dayal said commuters should plan ahead by downloading the WSDOT app, which offers several route options during high-traffic times.
The return of Amazon employees to the office should have a positive impact on small businesses, which have seen less foot traffic since the coronavirus pandemic forced employees to work remotely.
According to Census Bureau data released last month, Seattle leads the nation in percentage of the workforce (31.3%). Remote work between 20 major cities From 2019 to 2023.
This 31.3% figure equates to more than 140,000 employees (mostly in technology and other knowledge industries) who primarily worked from home over the four-year period.
Remote work has had a devastating impact on the city's brick-and-mortar stores. There are more than 500 vacant storefronts in the area, according to the Seattle Downtown Association.
However, in recent months there have been signs that this trend is reversing.
According to the latest census data, just over 1 in 5 workers in the Seattle metro area were working from home in 2023. That's down from nearly 50% three years ago.
Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the Seattle area recorded the highest economic growth among U.S. metropolitan areas in 2023.
Area including Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue gross domestic product increased According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, it will increase by 6.2% in 2023, translating to $487.8 billion.
The Post has reached out to Amazon for comment.
