Small business owners confront the absence of many Amazon workers for the rest of the year

Photo caption: Emerald City Pilates owner Jessica Notman, right, works with Elena Cheung at Notman’s studio near Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle on Thursday. A grant from Amazon as well as federal coronavirus relief loans have helped keep Notman’s business afloat. […] (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times). Article by Benjamin Romano | Seattle Times.

For many small businesses built on a clientele of Amazon workers in South Lake Union and the Denny Regrade, their absence for the remainder of the year could be an existential threat.

It’s as if the neighborhoods surrounding one of America’s densest urban corporate headquarters have been sucked back a decade in a matter of months, to a time before some 50,000 well-paid Amazon employees streamed in each day, grabbing morning coffee or hitting the gym for a before-work sweat, swarming the streets in search of lunch and gathering over happy hour drinks.

Sales have plunged, but for most, the rent is still due.

Amazon has allowed its corporate employees to work from home since early March, though some choose to work in its offices or have roles that require it. The number coming in each day varies, a spokesperson said. […]

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