Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia Photo: Wikipedia
Amazon has decided to have its $5 billioin HQ2 divided into two places – Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia and Long Island City in New York.
Availability of talent in diverse areas, the retail giant’s already heavy presence in the two areas and business climate are among some of the key considerations Amazon has taken into account while making the decision.
The New York Times reported on Monday that instead of housing its HQ2 at one place, Amazon has decided to split into two sites with a total of 50,000 employees.
Amazon is reportedly close to making final deals on having its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and Long Island City, New York.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is negotiating incentives with Virginia on having its HQ2 in Crystal City.
Long Island City, NY Photo: King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons
Currently, the Seattle-based tech titan employs around 1,800 people in advertising, fashion and publishing already in New York while it has 2,500 corporate and technical employees working in Northern Virginia and Washington, the Times reported.“Picking multiple sites would allow it to tap into two pools of talented labor and perhaps avoid being blamed for all of the housing and traffic woes of dominating a single area. It could also give the company greater leverage in negotiating tax incentives, experts said,” a report in the Times contemplated.
Amazon launched its search for a second headquarters a year ago and invited cities to offer packages that would facilitate its business. Besides billions of dollars in investment, the two facilities would generated thousands of employment opportunities. Northern Virginia will benefit enormously from Amazon HQ2. Governor Ralph Northam recently said his administration is try to diversify Virginia’s economy, which has a large share in the defense sector.
