Online retail giant Amazon scouts for office space in Bengaluru

Amazon is on the lookout for 1.3 million sq ft of office space in Bengaluru to support its “aggressive hiring outlook” over the next 3-5 years.

At present, Amazon occupies 5.5 lakh sq ft of office space spread across 15 floors at Brigade Gateway’s World Trade Centre, Bengaluru, which can accommodate 5,000 employees.

Builders shortlisted According to sources, the builders shortlisted by Amazon for its current requirement of office space are Brigade Group, Embassy Group and Bagmane Developers. This time around, the online retail giant is looking to lease office space on a build-to-fit model where the builder will build office space as per international standards set out by the company including safety, security and sustainability. Amazon had leased office space at the World Trade Centre on a “shell” basis where it was given a shell or open space by the Brigade Group.

With 1.3 million sq ft of additional office space, Amazon will be able to accommodate approximately 13,000 employees over the next 3-5 years that will support its India and global operations. On being contacted, Amazon said, as a company policy, it does not comment on what it may or may not do in the future.

Other centres Amazon entered India in 2004 with the opening of a Development Centre in Bengaluru. In 2005, the company expanded to Hyderabad and in 2006 to Chennai. Amazon teams in India support its websites across the world. The teams also support: payments, transportation and digital products and services like the Kindle family of tablets, e-readers and the store.

Last month, Amazon was awarded the highest new jobs creator in Karnataka in the Information Technology-enabled Services category by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Karnataka IT Exports Awards for financial year 2013-14.

The company does not divulge its headcount in India, however, on receiving the award, Raj Raghavan, Director Human Resources, Amazon India, said: “Amazon has been in India since 2004 and we have a long-term commitment to the country. Our employee base in Karnataka serves both our India and global operations and has grown by 37 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year. We continue to be aggressive in our hiring outlook as we scale up our operations in India in our endeavour to be India’s most customer-centric company.”