Amazon plans to hire 13,000 in Bellevue, Wash and more in Seattle

Amazon is dramatically boosting its employee count in the city where it was founded.

The online retailer, in a blog post, said it plans to increase its staff in Bellevue, Wash. from 2,000 to 15,000 over the next few years.

“We opened our first office building in Bellevue in 2017. It’s a growing, business-friendly city with great amenities, a high quality of life, and a fantastic talent pool,” the company said in a blog post.

Bellevue holds a special place in Amazon’s history. It was in the garage of a rented home in that town that Jeff Bezos started the company in July 1995.

The Bellevue hiring spree comes as Amazon continues increase staffing in Seattle. The Seattle Times notes the company has over 11,000 Seattle-specific job openings and is still adding space in the city.

The company is in the midst of a tax fight with Seattle, however, as the City Council considers a tax on large employers to fund affordable housing and homeless services. That dispute led Amazon to pull out of an agreement to lease over 700,000 square feet of office space in Rainier Square.

Amazon employs over 500,000 people throughout the United States and nearly 800,000 worldwide.