Live data from Hacker News

Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

amazon.com

321–330 of 490 posts

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#321
post #140

I think it's possible Amazon is not so much shopping for a second HQ as it is looking to move work from the high rent, pro union Seattle area. Only, they saw how much negative press Boeing received after making their true intentions known for moving work to southern states. Amazon is being sneakier. If all works out, long term I imagine much of their high end development work may move from Seattle.

From memory the reason Amazon was based in Seattle was that it was close to book publisher warehouses, that is no longer a good reason to remain there.

Also the initial business plan of Amazon was in large part trying to benefit from not having to pay sales tax on out of state shipments.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#322
post #84

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Pittsburgh yet. uber did some early self driving pilots there. CMU is there. Google has a large office there. Amazon has also started hiring software engineers for an office in Pittsburgh too. Cost of living is very cheap. Many upsides to Pittsburgh. I don't know what the city could afford in terms of subsidies though.

PA Corporate tax is one of the highest in the country. Though it's not a terrible option.

How does that affect a company like Amazon that cam claim its primary HQ in another state, and its actual realized revenue as mostly in other states? What part of Amazon's profits would get taxed in PA?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#323

Come to Atlanta! Great schools, great weather, downtown is under utilized, decent mass transit. One of the fastest grow tech locations in the country. We offer, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no tidal waves, no forest fires, no flooding, and once every 10 year snow storms. We are on the opposite coast which protects you from N Korean actions. Plus you can fly anywhere from our airport!

Atlanta is also subject to the whims of a state legislature that passed a "religious freedom bill" that required the governor's veto as recently as last year.

and sadly, a number of the gubernatorial candidates have indicated they are in favor of this bill.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#324

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,…

The US could just do what the EU does and ban sweetheart tax deals. Such tax deals are anti-small-company/unfair and it's a race to the bottom that no one will win.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#325

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…

And there are already more than 1000 Amazon employees in Vancouver. A couple warehouses that have easy access to China/Pacific shipping.

And the False Creek Flats are going through planned urbanization at the moment: http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/false-creek-flats-plan-2017-05...

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here are the top eng colleges in US: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering... Do you see UoU and BYU there in the top 50? I don't either. For contrast, 2 of Silicon Valley's univs are in top 5.

Ok, they are both top 100 for engineering and top 50 for business programs. I think you are confusing "great" with "top" or "prestigious". They are great universities. And college rankings aren't everything. Those universities put out a high volume entrepreneurs, more than most of the top 50 engineering schools. For example, I don't see most of the top engineering schools on this list: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHB…

I suspect this is a Utah cultural affect. Mormon attitudes and community culture VERY strongly promotes entrepreneurship. Missions are good sales experience too.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#327
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And anyone wonders why the USA does not have money for healthcare, higher education, high speed rail, etc. etc. I am in West Africa and everyone continually asks about the corruption. At least here it's up front and honest. The guy with the AK-47 just wants $5. In the USA, it's the guys in suits getting billions.

sorry but if i have to choose between a guy with an AK47 demanding $5 from me, and a shadowy power pulling the strings of a vibrant economy to extract 10% of my income, I know what I'd choose.

For me it's the AK-47 for sure.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#328

I think it's possible Amazon is not so much shopping for a second HQ as it is looking to move work from the high rent, pro union Seattle area. Only, they saw how much negative press Boeing received after making their true intentions known for moving work to southern states. Amazon is being sneakier. If all works out, long term I imagine much of their high end development work may move from Seattle.

Are unions affecting Amazon?

Unions would affect warehouses and jobs like shipping/delivery, not HQ office jobs.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#329
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what a year do I live in that governments must bow to corpos and politely submit RFP document asking for tax money .... reduction. There was once a story on hackersnews why this (demanding tax cuts) its unethical on much larger scale than race etc. It went like this (forgive my memory, english, and feel free to correct it): There were two states, neighboring, with similar budgets and number of people. They werent ric…

This has been going on forever. It is a natural consequence of free people acting in their own best interests. Giving an employer $1Bn in tax breaks knowing you will get more than $10Bn in increased tax revenue is good for the government and good for the employer. Is it fair? No. But liberalism doesn't aim to make the world fair; it aims to make it free.

The bidders are also free to mention to Amazon that they were thinking of increasing the funding for their local anti-trust investigations, and maybe those funds wouldn't be available if they had to be spent on infrastructure improvements related to significant new construction in the area instead.

Ask for a bribe; get a threat. If a city can afford to blow a few million on tax breaks to get more millions in economic development, it can afford to blow a few hundred thousand on lawyers to get something in fines or settlements.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read in the past of how such deals (of factory/office X choosing to open location Y based on tax incentives) ultimately not benefiting the city involved, especially when the companies pull tactics like closing unexpectedly shortly after receiving incentives and moving elsewhere. Given this, I'm fairly sure that a wide-ranging study of such infrastructural deals would show that many (most?) communities involved a…

I believe you're thinking of taxpayer funded sporting events, e.g. NFL stadiums and Olympic games. There's a big difference between that and a legitimate business.

Nope, I was actually thinking of businesses e.g. automotive brands opening assembly/manufacturing plants.
Post reply on HN