Google, Amazon and Meta join Microsoft in laying off sizable portions of their staff in response to changing economic tides.

It isn’t the only technology company going through the wringer. Microsoft credited a companywide re-evaluation of its real estate portfolio and goals for the decision to halt work on the Westside. “We are confident in the long-term future of the tech sector in metro Atlanta,” the chamber said in a statement. The chamber said the Atlanta economy can weather this decision by Microsoft. The Metro Atlanta Chamber, which recruits businesses to the region, said Microsoft has contributed to the city’s status as a technology hub, with large offices occupied by Google, Cisco and Mailchimp. No discretionary state incentives were offered, but it’s unclear if any local incentives were on the table. Microsoft’s data center and Atlantic Station offices received hefty tax abatements from local development authorities, and the company previously said it would apply for incentives to develop its Grove Park campus. Microsoft purchased the property in early 2020 for $127 million and later paid $22.5 million to expand the site by 20 acres. But those plans never got off the ground.

Teixeira’s group had a vision for a massive, mixed-use project they called Quarry Yards, with hundreds of apartments, a hotel, retail and restaurants located near the Bankhead MARTA station. The 90-acre site has been the center of grand plans for years.Ī development group led by former Atlanta Braves baseball star Mark Teixeira spent years in the 2010s assembling 70 acres of residential tracts and piney woods at the defunct Bellwood Quarry, best known as a popular filming site featured in “The Walking Dead” and “Stranger Things.” “This announcement of a delayed development creates uncertainties, and the mayor wants to ensure that Microsoft fulfills the commitments it has made to our city.” Rebooting plans “The 2021 announcement of the campus had economic consequences for the surrounding communities,” Dickens said through a city spokesman. The site is located just south of Westside Park, roughly four miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta.Ītlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, caught off-guard by the news, said he called Microsoft’s leaders Thursday to express his concerns that the Westside communities would be abandoned. Microsoft’s initial announcement prompted a wave of new attention and investment to Grove Park and the surrounding neighborhoods, most of which consist of predominantly Black communities. Many large companies are still evaluating their long-term office strategies, especially if employees continue to work hybrid or remote schedules. The change in plans epitomizes the adjustments many technology companies are grappling with in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended traditional offices as workplaces, while prompting large profits for the tech sector. Microsoft, which allows employees to work half of their time remotely, leases the buildings through 2035. Microsoft continues to occupy a two-tower campus in Atlantic Station, which has the capacity for 2,000 employees - even though many continue to work hybrid schedules. The company declined to say how many of those employees were in Atlanta.

Word of those halted plans, first reported online Thursday evening by real estate publication Bisnow, comes just days after Microsoft announced it would lay off 5% of its global workforce, roughly 10,000 employees. Explore Forecaster: Recession nearly certain, but it won’t look like other downturns “We intend to re-engage in planning efforts when expansion is warranted,” the statement continued. The Redmond, Washington-based company said it has not abandoned the land or placed it up for sale, with the spokesperson adding, “We still aim to set aside a quarter of the 90 acres for community needs.” Jasmine Hope, chairperson of Neighborhood Planning Unit-K, which includes several neighborhoods near the proposed campus.

“It feels like a slap in the face, because the consequences have already been felt, but none of the benefits have come to fruition,” said Dr.

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