Amazon ranked as No. 1 investor in America

Amazon is receiving credit for its progressive approach to domestic investment as it takes a forward-looking view of employees’ personal cannabis use.

For the second year in a row, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) ranked Amazon as the number one U.S. company investing in America. Amazon placed first on PPI’s “Investment Heroes” list, an annual study that identifies the Top 25 American companies investing in the U.S. The study estimates that Amazon invested $34 billion in American infrastructure in 2020, which led to the creation of more than 400,000 direct jobs during the year.

PPI cited Amazon opening more than 150 delivery stations, fulfillment centers, and sortation centers in dozens of communities; as well as investing in the development of more than 20 new solar and wind farms. Amazon also opened more than 45 Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go, Amazon 4-star, Amazon Books, Pop Up and Whole Foods Market stores in 2020.

Other infrastructure investments by Amazon during the year included expanding its tech hub locations in cities including Boston, Dallas, and Phoenix, and started construction of its second headquarters in Arlington, Va., where the company has already invested more than $450 million.

During 2020, Amazon added more than 2 million square feet of office space for the company’s growing tech and corporate workforce. In addition, Amazon built its own labs to test for COVID-19 and is building advanced facilities for robotics and broadband satellites in Massachusetts and Washington.

“We have a long track record of investing in the U.S., and in 2020, we doubled down on our investments to continue delivering for our customers and supporting the American economy,” said Holly Sullivan, VP of worldwide economic development at Amazon. “Building new infrastructure, from new fulfillment centers to wind and solar farms, allowed us to create more than 400,000 jobs in the last year in communities across the country.”