Amazon Web Services opens Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Amazon expanded its presence in Singapore on Wednesday (Feb 12) with its second office in the central business district, which will also serve as its cloud computing unit's Asia-Pacific headquarters.

The new Amazon Web Services (AWS) Asia Pacific Hub, located at IOI Central Boulevard Towers, spans over 360,000 sq ft across eight floors. It can accommodate up to 3,000 employees from more than 100 local and regional teams.

Amazon's other corporate office in Singapore's central business district was launched in 2021. It occupies more than 100,000 sq ft over three floors at Asia Square in Marina Bay, and accommodates up to 700 employees. 

The tech giant announced in May 2024 that it would invest an additional S$12 billion (US$8.8 billion) into Singapore's cloud infrastructure from 2024 to 2028. Amazon said that this investment, in addition to previous investment commitments, is expected to contribute S$23.7 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product by 2028 and support 12,300 full-time equivalent jobs in local businesses each year.

At the office opening, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary spoke about the importance of continuing to equip Singapore's workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in a digital economy.

"We have to not just look at our undergraduate pipeline of students coming through, but those people who are in jobs, mid-career, middle-aged, looking to pivot from one career to the other."

He added that he is "heartened" to see that AWS, together with the opening of its new regional hub, will be growing its teams in areas such as software engineering, machine learning and data centre engineering. 

"These types of roles will enable our workers, the people of Singapore, to seek out employment opportunities and be at the forefront of technological advancement," Dr Puthucheary said. 

The US company currently has more than 2,500 employees in Singapore, across its cloud, corporate, retail, technology and operations divisions. Amazon said it plans to hire over 100 additional employees for cloud and corporate roles, expanding its local workforce.

"This investment together with our previous planned investments across the region, reflects our confidence in Singapore and the region’s position as a technology hub," said Mr Jeff Johnson, AWS' managing director of ASEAN. 

The new office will house more than 100 teams, including local and regional employees supporting AWS and other corporate functions.

"AWS customers and partners will be welcomed to use its office for focused co-working sessions, creative brainstorms in dedicated innovation rooms, hands-on technical workshops, or informal networking in their community spaces," AWS said in a news release.

The office has 12 large training rooms that can hold between 40 and 60 people each, and meeting rooms and training rooms equipped with video-conferencing and other audio visual capabilities. 

Additionally, the office will hold AWS' first flagship executive briefing centre in Asia, and an AWS Asia-Pacific innovation hub is also slated to open by the third quarter of the year. 

Amazon first announced in September 2024 that employees will be required to return to company offices five days a week from the beginning of this year. The move did not go down well with employees, with one in Singapore telling CNA at the time that the policy was "quite a bummer". 

The company then said in December that the policy change will be delayed due to a lack of office space.

When asked about flexibility in work arrangements for employees, AWS' Singapore country manager Priscilla Chong said: "We recognise there will occasionally be days when someone might need the flexibility to work from home for the day, and for those occasions, employees should communicate with their manager - just as they would have prior to the pandemic."