San Francisco, Jan 7 (IANS): Amazon has pledged a $2 billion Housing Equity Fund over the next five years to address affordable housing crisis at three of its major employment hubs in the US.

The company said that the fund will help ensure moderate- to low-income families can afford housing in communities with easy access to neighbourhood services, amenities, and jobs.

According to Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the new $2 billion Housing Equity Fund "will create or preserve 20,000 affordable homes in all three of our headquarters regions — Arlington, Puget Sound, and Nashville".

"It will also help local families achieve long-term stability while building strong, inclusive communities," he said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Amazon's pledge follows similar commitments from Apple, Facebook, and Google who have committed between $1 billion and $2.5 billion each to address affordable housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"Amazon has a long-standing commitment to helping people in need, including the Mary's Place family shelter we built inside our Puget Sound headquarters. The shelter now supports over 200 women and children experiencing homelessness every night," Bezos said.

Amazon's Housing Equity Fund will provide an additional $125 million in cash grants to businesses, nonprofits, and minority-led organisations to help them build a more inclusive solution to the affordable housing crisis, which disproportionately affects communities of colour.