Los Angeles (i.e. Hollywood) could be a strategic move given Amazon's massive push in original series and programming via Amazon Studios. Also, shares a coast with Seattle.
Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
281–290 of 747 posts
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#282Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…
If Canadian cities were in serious competition I think there'd be more than one of them on the list. There are a good number of American cities smaller than Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa/Gatineau on the list, let alone Montreal and Vancouver. I suspect that Toronto is the token Canadian city and won't get serious consideration. I don't blame them, in this era of Trump hyper-nationalism there'd be a huge blow…
Vancouver is right next to Seattle, and wouldn't diversify Amazon in terms of time zones or meterological/geological catastrophes. I don't know enough to say for sure, but I think Amazon has a preference for English-speaking cities which would indicate against Montreal.
Honestly, I think Toronto is a huge dark horse. It's an incredibly attractive location to relocate candidates to and isn't subject to American visa laws. I think the main reason smaller Canadian cities didn't make the cut is because Amazon doesn't really want to go that far north. Toronto is already south of Seattle, for instance.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
Give your requirements, Newark would be the best candidate - EWR close by, with public transportation connections - Strong local universities, both in tech and business (Rutgers, NJIT, Stevens) - Newark development is rising, downtown is still relatively sparse - Audible is already in Newark Skeptical it will actually happen though. Wouldn't even consider myself a fan of Newark (even though I go to school here), but…
Columbia and NYU and Cornell Tech don't make the list? Newark is a borough.
Agree. I work in the area. Beyond universities, the amount of talent that goes through Newark, from NJ suburbs into NYC, every day is incredible. I would think many of those people would love to shave 20-40 minutes off their commute and stop paying city taxes.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#284Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…
What is the basis for your assumption of "- a strong existing tech workforce and universities."? Amazon already has a strong and diverse tech force, in fact, they have so many tech workers that it has affected Seattle's housing crises. I highly doubt HQ2 will have that many tech workers. If anything, Amazon wants to pay less for non-tech workers because they can't write off those salaries, which implies that the loca…
From the linked page
>>We are looking for a location with strong local and regional talent—particularly in software development and related fields
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#285The whole west coast seems to be ruled out, so clearly geography is coming into play.
Except for Los Angeles, that is.
I can't imagine Los Angeles being a serious contender.
- Land is expensive and not particularly abundant. Mid-Wilshire is relatively cheap has great proximity to everything (airport, downtown, west LA, Hollywood) if Amazon is willing to invest in the gentrification of the area.
- Labor cost is within 10% of Bay/Seattle/NYC
- Mass transit is currently effectively non-existent.
- One of the highest taxed cities in the nation.
On the plus side, there's:
+ A very well connected international airport
+ A lot of top tier universities nearby (CalTech, UCLA, USC, UCSB, UCSD, UCI, Pepperdine); any one of which can single handedly supply a workforce comparable to the other candidate cities.
It's a lot easier moving people and airplanes to the other cities than it is creating cheap well connected land in LA.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#286I could swear I read that the EU does not allow this kind of bidding war for tax reduction by companies, but I can't find it online. The US certainly allows it, which I think is a bad idea.
Why?
Assuming Amazon is going to create an HQ somewhere in America, consider the two situations: 1) Current situation, they will eventually get a very large tax cut from wherever they select. 2) Hypothetical situation: local tax breaks are not allowed, Amazon selects a location and pays the local taxes that it avoided in situation #1.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#287Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I do wonder what kept Vancouver off the list though. Housing crisis.
And probably the fact that it's so close to Seattle. Geography matters to a company like Amazon and putting up a large hub right next to the first one isn't the best choice.
Toronto's housing isn't that far behind Vancouver. Locals on local salaries cannot afford it.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest My bet is on Toronto because they can pick up all the staff they need worldwide without the problems of trying to get US visas.
They won't do this after getting bids from numerous American cities. To choose a city in Canada would piss off too much of their customer base, including the president of the country, and would have a long term material impact on sales.
Have you seen Trump's tweets about Amazon and Bezos? He's already pissed at them. Frankly if I was in their shoes I would go with Toronto also to have some sort of hedging against the US political climate.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are probably a minority. There is rampant racism in these states and many don’t even try to hide their discrimination.
> rampant: flourishing or spreading unchecked. I have lived in the south for 33 years (in particular, one of these states mentioned) - if you think that racism is flourishing or spreading unchecked you are misinformed. It exists, but it's dying. Please stop spreading hyperbole like this.
Having lived in the South for the past 8 years and the North for ... Well many more ... I 100% agree with your statement.
I've learned that people here (the South) are far more accepting and far less racist than up north.
Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2
#290Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest My bet is on Toronto because they can pick up all the staff they need worldwide without the problems of trying to get US visas.
They won't do this after getting bids from numerous American cities. To choose a city in Canada would piss off too much of their customer base, including the president of the country, and would have a long term material impact on sales.
I sincerely doubt the majority of their customer base cares at all, and it would almost certainly have very little impact on sales.