Amazon planning major Vancouver expansion

The logo for Amazon.com is displayed at a news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

One of the world’s biggest online retailers is planning a major expansion in Vancouver that could generate hundreds of new jobs, according to tech industry insiders.

Amazon has posted jobs for more than 90 software developers and other professionals in the city, and reports suggest the company is leasing at least 91,000 square feet in the state-of-the-art Telus Gardens complex being built downtown.

The Internet giant has remained tight-lipped about its plans but a message on its website states that “Amazon Vancouver anticipates growing quickly so check back as more jobs may be listed soon.”

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson tweeted the space Amazon’s leasing would be ample for about 1,000 employees, and issued a statement to CTV News describing the move as a big win for the city.

“Amazon creating such an impressive number of new jobs represents a major boost to Vancouver’s economy and our city’s fast-growing technology sector,” Robertson wrote.

B.C. Technology Industry Association president Bill Tam agreed, but said Amazon could run into trouble filling all those positions.

“Now that the growth of the tech industry has been so strong for so many months in row, we’re starting to see that it’s harder and harder for companies to actually find the talent and fill the openings that they have available,” Tam said.

News of Pixar and video game developers such as Rockstar Games leaving town left some worried about the state of the tech industry, but Tam said there’s little cause for concern.

“We’re seeing the fastest growth rates in the technology sector that we’ve seen in over a decade.”

B.C. is currently home to almost 9,000 tech companies that employ almost 90,000 people, Tam added, in the sectors of information technology, software, digital media, clean tech and life sciences.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Penny Daflos