After the election of a new mayor in Seattle, a top Amazon executive on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to the region, vowing, “We’re not going anywhere.”
David ZapolskyAmazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer made the remarks during an Amazon Community Impact reception at The Sphere “We are not going anywhere” in Seattle, where he and others discussed the company’s philanthropic and civic initiatives, from housing to food security.
“Obviously, it’s a time of change both in the region and around the world,” Zapolski said. “Amazon is committed to our home, to this Puget Sound region. We’re not going anywhere. And so we’re committed to building this community.”
We are not going anywhere
It’s a rare public reaffirmation of the Seattle region as Amazon’s primary base. It follows years of political disputes over taxes and other city policies that have “We are not going anywhere” contributed to Amazon moving more workers to Bellevue, Wash., and Northern Virginia.
With the arrival of Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, Amazon will once again have to forge a working relationship with a city leader who has promised to address issues like affordability, created by a tech boom that Amazon helped fuel.
Wilson defeated Mayor Bruce Harrell, a more business-friendly leader than Amazon was used to dealing with during the tech giant’s strained “We are not going anywhere” relationship with City Hall.
I’ve tried to have a very supportive relationship, but also one of mutual accountability,” Harrell told GeekWire in January about his dealings with Amazon. I think it’s working well.
During his campaign in September, Wilson told
“We are not going anywhere” GeekWire that he aims to work with the tech sector and Amazon on innovative solutions to civic challenges.
A longtime community organizer and co-founder of the Transit Riders Union, Wilson helped design and pass Seattle’s controversial jumpstart payroll spending tax in 2020. A bulk of the revenue — $360 million in 2024 — is generated from 10 companies, including Amazon.
In the same election that Wilson was inaugurated, voters also overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2, a plan created by Harrell and City Council member Alexis Mercedes Rink that would reshape the city’s business and “We are not going anywhere” occupation (B&O) tax that applies to gross revenues. This will affect both small startups and large tech companies like Amazon.
According to public records, Zapolski gave $550 In Harrell’s re-election campaign. Amazon HR chief Beth Galletti ($650) and Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington ($550) from Amazon among others who contributed.
Amazon’s headquarters campus in Seattle. (GeekWire File Photo/Kurt Schlosser)The Spheres, during Tuesday’s event on Amazon His philanthropic efforts are spotlighted And progress is being made across the region, including:
- $900 million committed to build or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes through its housing fund.
- 4.5 million meals have been distributed to needy families since 2020.
- 380,000 bed nights provided to families experiencing homelessness through Mary’s Place.
Zapolsky said Amazon’s community strategy has changed as the company has expanded rapidly in Seattle. He said employees and leaders “” have always cared about their communities, but the company’s efforts in its earlier days were informal and relatively small-scale. By 2009 and 2010, Amazon was growing much faster than expected and “we were kind of supported by the scale we had in the city,” Zapolsky said — prompting company leaders to recognize the need for a more organized approach.
From there, he said, Amazon began applying its core business principles to civic work: taking a long-term view, listening to partners to understand what communities really need, and focusing on where Amazon’s unique capabilities — logistics, technology, legal expertise — could have the most impact, rather than just financial contributions.
“We’re still in the middle of the journey,” Zapolski said.
Amazon counts more than 80,000 full- and part-time employees in the Puget Sound region. About 50,000 corporate and tech workers are in Seattle – that’s a number Shrinking from about 60,000 More jobs move to Bellevue in 2020. The company announced widespread layoffs of 14,000 workers in October, including 2,303 corporate employees in Washington state.
Zapolsky, who has been at Amazon for 26 years, calls his move from New York to Seattle 32 years ago the best decision he ever made. He cited the city’s amazing assets, from its people and diversity to its infrastructure improvements, including the waterfront, convention center and Climate Place Arena.
Even the government can’t stop it when it tries,” he added, adding, “We’re here to stay. We want to continue working with our community partners to make the Puget Sound region better for our community and for our employees.”