January 2018 (USA TODAY) – Amazon named 20 finalists in the race to win its second headquarters, narrowing the pool of cities competing to secure an expected 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. The 20 finalists are:
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Boston
- Chicago
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas
- Denver
- Indianapolis
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Montgomery County, Md.
- Nashville
- Newark
- New York City
- Northern Virginia
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Toronto
- Washington, D.C.
Amazon announced its search for a second, but equal, headquarters in September. Its requirements, laid out in a request for proposals, included that the winner be a metropolitan area with more than 1 million people, have a “stable and business-friendly environment,” and be in “urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.” At least 238 cities and regions in the United States and Canada applied.
“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough — all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Holly Sullivan, Amazon Public Policy.
The request set off a land rush that saw cities offering to rename themselves (Stonecrest, Ga.), ship a cactus (Tucson) and build giant Amazon boxes throughout downtown (Birmingham, Ala.) The deadline to submit an application was Oct. 19.
The prize is to become what Amazon says will be a true second headquarters, where it will hire new teams and executives, creating fresh geographic demand for well-compensated tech talent.
Amazon estimated that its investments in its hometown of Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy. The online retailer run by Jeff Bezos has been rapidly expanding its physical footprint and employee count in the U.S. as it seeks to shorten the time for delivery for its tens of millions of Prime subscription members, plus builds out computing services such as music, web hosting and its digital assistant Alexa.