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Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

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Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#51

Post by mathgeek »

amb23 wrote: post #20
iagooar wrote: post #13

Bezos: Alexa, buy me a city, we need new headquarters. Alexa: City acquired. It's so crazy to see a company make cities apply for hosting them, instead of them applying for space in a city. But I guess that given the size of Amazon, it's actually worth more than most cities in the world anyway...

It's all about tax breaks. This is a blatant attempt by Amazon to get years of taxes abated in order to provide the increased regional economic benefit of... doing exactly what they'd do anyways if they didn't get the break. US city and state then competes against other US cities and states in a battle to provide the larger tax break. It's an odious practice in my opinion, and I wish lawmakers would do something to c…

It's only exactly what they'd do anyway if the chosen location was getting their new HQ anyway. While I don't necessarily agree with it on a personal level, this is a pretty basic "supply vs demand" situation.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#52

Post by obstacle1 »

trevyn wrote: post #45
obstacle1 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't really make sense, an HQ would need to be in an actual city, not a sprawling suburban bedroom community. Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal.

The RFP explicitly states that they prefer "Metropolitan areas with more than one million people", but that the site does not have to be "An urban or downtown campus".

Great. The population of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge combined is just over 500k [1]. Disqualified, then.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-Cities_(Ontario)

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#53

Post by smelterdemon »

jdhn wrote: post #38
jtmarmon wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

cost of land is probably the least of amazon's considerations in building a second HQ edit: to elaborate, what they care much more about, i'm sure, is ability to attract and retain talent in the area. which I'm not sure detroit could do much about. even if you could make it more desirable to live there there's so little talent in the area you'd have to spend a crazy amount of time and money relocating people

There's a fair amount of engineering talent out here. However, it's mainly focused in the auto industry which has never been seen as a sexy industry until the recent push into self driving cars.

Fair amount is an understatement when talking about the whole field of engineering. IIRC Metro Detroit has the largest population of engineers in the US. Granted a big portion of those jobs are in Auburn Hills, Dearborn and Warren rather than Detroit proper.

Edit: just checked the BLS numbers and apparently it's #4, beaten by Houston and edged out by NYC and LA.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#55

Post by jdc0589 »

peteretep wrote: post #5

Let's say I'm the mayor of Detroit, and I want this. What incentives are in my power to offer, if I team up with the Guv'nor? Can I just gift them the land?

tax incentives are most common. (i worked in the business development office of a state government for a very short duration)

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#57

Post by ghaff »

mathgeek wrote: post #51
amb23 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's all about tax breaks. This is a blatant attempt by Amazon to get years of taxes abated in order to provide the increased regional economic benefit of... doing exactly what they'd do anyways if they didn't get the break. US city and state then competes against other US cities and states in a battle to provide the larger tax break. It's an odious practice in my opinion, and I wish lawmakers would do something to c…

It's only exactly what they'd do anyway if the chosen location was getting their new HQ anyway. While I don't necessarily agree with it on a personal level, this is a pretty basic "supply vs demand" situation.

Companies do sometimes indulge in incentives brinkmanship by threatening to move if they don't get the right offer. But, assuming this isn't Amazon just playing that game with Seattle, they do have pretty open options. Like it or not, companies do go after tax incentives and local job creation is pretty important to politicians. And it's not clear it shouldn't be given that's pretty central to the economic health of a city or area.

It's also worth noting that Amazon isn't just a tech company; they're a huge retailer. Walmart has no particular problem having their headquarters in Bentonville Arkansas.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#59

Post by almostApatriot1 »

amleszk wrote: post #4

I actually hope this is a city where housing affordability is made more sustainable up front. Something to avoid the way New York and San Francisco have evolved into landlords and rent seekers drowning the wealth generation of incumbents

counterpoint: How many developers will move to Ohio to work for Amazon?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#60

Post by kogepathic »

Why not put HQ2 in Vancouver?

Okay, yes, house prices are unrealistic, but hear me out:

1. Not in the US (helpful for any non-American employees who can't get a visa or don't want to live in the current political climate in the US)

2. Relatively easy for Americans to work in Canada

3. Close proximity to Seattle

4. Canadian salaries are typically lower than America, so this could be a huge boon to Canadians working in tech that they're finally paid similar to US counterparts and/or Amazon can save a bundle on salary costs by paying the Canadian market rate...

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