Amazon has pledged to spend more than $2 billion over the next five years to build tens of thousands of affordable housing units in three of the e-commerce giant’s major employment hubs, underscoring the ongoing housing crises affecting parts of the US where large, high-paying tech employers reside. Amazon’s pledge, announced on Wednesday, follows similar commitments from Apple, Facebook, and Google, all of which previously promised between $1 billion and $2.5 billion each to tackle similar issues plaguing the San Francisco Bay Area.
The parts of the US Amazon plans to invest in include Washington state’s Puget Sound region that encompasses Seattle, as well as Arlington, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee where Amazon has opened…