Thursday, September 7, 2017

Amazon To Set Up Second Headquarters, Where Does Austin, TX Cities Rank?

E-commerce behemoth Amazon.com announced a stunning new effort this morning, to create a second headquarters with up to 50,000 employees--in a move which seems bound to attract cities such as Austin, already a popular destination for technology companies setting up for major expansion. According to Amazon.com, it is seeking proposals from cities looking to host "Amazon HQ2", where it plans to hire up to 50,000 employees, a complete set of executives, and create a "full equal" to its current Seattle headquarters. Amazon said its is looking for metropolitan areas with more than one million people; a stable and business-friendly environment; urban or suburban locations with potential to attract and retain strong technical talent; and communities that can "think big and creatively" when considering locations and real estate options. It appears that Amazon.com has grown too big for its home town of Seattle, where it--along with Microsoft--are completely dominant in terms of employees. An expansion to Austin or another Texas city would significantly open up access to talent and real estate, compared with Amazon.com's current restraints in Seattle.