Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#61

Post by mhb » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 12:57 PM UTC

revmoo wrote: post #40

My city (Louisville) would be a prime candidate due to proximity to UPS WorldPort, and Amazon already has a bunch of facilities here. That said, screw these guys. I'll make sure to have my voice heard if my city tries to offer them tax rebates to come here. Everyone needs to pay taxes, especially gigantic corporations. I hate that companies like this even have the nerve to expect these sorts of breaks.

Everyone needs to pay taxes

Why is this different than New Hampshire competing with other states by having no income tax?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#62

Post by mratzloff » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 12:59 PM UTC

libria wrote: post #26

Why I wonder? While they're gobbling up DT Sea, they only have 1 building in Bellevue. Isn't there room to set up shop in Fremont or Kirkland and poach more engineers from Microsoft/Tableau/Expedia etc and reducing commute times? Not seeing the upside. This is a major management overhead, managing culture between both, all hands, IT infrastructure. Austin, TX is a good candidate. Very strong engineering university at…

I think many Seattlites would be OK with Amazon not gobbling up even more of the local economy.

As far as some of the outlying areas, I think it comes down to signaling around tax breaks from the governor[1] and available office space inventory.

[1] https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/07/07/inslee-v...

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#63

Post by dajohnson89 » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:01 PM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #24

The RFP is rather more interesting than the marketing page: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Anything... The 2nd criterion is basically the total amount of sweet, sweet taxpayer dollars available to subsidize them: Please provide a summary of total incentives offered for the Project by the state/province and local community. In this summary, please provide a brief description of the incentive item,…

Yeah, shocking huh? This is the only reason this whole thing is being done. It's basically a solicitation, and Amazon will go to the highest bidder. It happens all the time, it's just that this initiative is more public.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#64

Post by smelterdemon » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:03 PM UTC

jtmarmon wrote: post #6

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?

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

Amazon already has a (albeit relatively small) office in Detroit, so they must not be so skeptical of the talent pool.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#65

Post by michaelt » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:04 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #30

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

Relocation is a relative drop in the hat if you can otherwise attract talent--potentially at a lower salary than the West Coast.

Jobs in remote locations make it hard to attract people who know what a BATNA is.

I mean, how am I supposed to negotiate with my boss for a $5,000 raise if he knows changing jobs will cost me $20,000 in relocation costs?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#66

Post by brudgers » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:04 PM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #24

The RFP is rather more interesting than the marketing page: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Anything... The 2nd criterion is basically the total amount of sweet, sweet taxpayer dollars available to subsidize them: Please provide a summary of total incentives offered for the Project by the state/province and local community. In this summary, please provide a brief description of the incentive item,…

Amazon was built upon the competitive edge of pricing devoid of state and local sales tax. Now it is soliciting tax breaks from state and local governments.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#67

Post by mratzloff » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:05 PM UTC

avenoir wrote: post #42

If they're after tax breaks and cheap land they can follow companies like Sprint and Garmin and build open headquarters somewhere in East Kansas.

Small qualified developer pool to draw from and hard to attract outside talent. I grew up in eastern Kansas and left in part because of dismal career prospects.

They'll end up choosing an up-and-coming city (i.e., positive population growth).

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#68

Post by nathanmuller » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:09 PM UTC

I'd argue Research Triangle Park (RTP) is better choice than Austin. Instead of using one feeder school Amazon could pull from three excellent schools: Duke University, North Carolina State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For those that are unfamiliar RTP is a major tech center.

Edit: Changed "RTP" to "Research Triangle Park" in initial comment.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#69

Post by hydrogen18 » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:13 PM UTC

nathanmuller wrote: post #68

I'd argue Research Triangle Park (RTP) is better choice than Austin. Instead of using one feeder school Amazon could pull from three excellent schools: Duke University, North Carolina State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For those that are unfamiliar RTP is a major tech center. Edit: Changed "RTP" to "Research Triangle Park" in initial comment.

Forgive my ignorance, what is RTP?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#70

Post by martin_drapeau » Thu, Sep 07, 2017, 1:13 PM UTC

kogepathic wrote: post #60

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…

Salaries are lower in Canada indeed. Plus, their are substantial credits both at the federal and provincial levels to recuperate developer salary costs (30%+). Ubisoft and other studios have their R&D in Montreal just for this reason. There is a big talent pool in and around Montreal. Would be an ideal location.