- Amazon is still soliciting bids for its new $5 billion, 50,000 person HQ.
Thomson Reuters
Employees work at Amazon's Prime Now fulfillment centre in Singapore
- New York City has emerged as a leading contender.
- Cities like Boston and Los Angeles are seeing pushback from locals who question Amazon's motives.
The $5 billion bid for Amazon's 50,000 person headquarters is intensifying.
New York City is doubling down on its bid to be the site of Amazon's second HQ. Meanwhile, cities like Boston and Los Angeles are facing pushback from residents amid fears of financial loss and an "Amageddon" scenario that's been plaguing Seattle.
New York City is soliciting "ideas and information regarding space, programs, and other assets that could be included in the City's proposal and ultimately bring Amazon to New York City," on its website, USA Today reported.
America's largest city has a clear advantage: young people.
"Amazon added to the drama by saying both that it would give priority to metro areas with 1 million-plus people and that places interested in vying for the second headquarters should think 'big' and 'creatively,'" USA Today wrote.
But other cities are pushing back against Amazon's demand for bids and perks.
Boston, which has reportedly been a leading contender for Amazon's new HQ, "can afford to lose this bidding war," Globe columnist Evan Horowitz wrote in a piece titled "Dear Amazon, here's our offer: not one dime."
Horowitz questions the company's motives for bids to include local tax breaks and special incentives.
"Maybe what Amazon is looking for isn't money, but rather pliability - some proof that the anointed city will bend to its needs," Horowitz writes. "A big inducement package is a signal of weakness that Amazon can exploit for additional concessions as times change. Air rights for delivery drones? Food labeling issues at Whole Foods?"
Anthony Bolante/Reuters Amazon's HQ in Seattle.
Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote that Amazon is taking advantage of the local communities that are putting together bids - which will presumably include generous tax incentives - for a planned $5 billion, 50,000-job facility.
"The company's approach is arrogant, naive and more than a teensy bit cynical," Hiltzik writes. "Rather than be offered bribes to move its headquarters into a community, Amazon should be made to pay for the privilege."
Hiltzik also points out that existing local businesses will face consequences for hosting Amazon.
"Communities that boast of relatively modest costs of living and reasonable labor costs as come-ons should recognize that Amazon's arrival will push up land values, and therefore the cost of housing and office space, and produce upward pressure on wages," Hiltzik writes. "That's good for workers, not so much for existing employers."
Amazon's headquarters in Seattle has certainly caused some tension, with some local residents calling the effects on traffic and housing prices "Armageddon."