Amazon gets hundreds of proposals for second headquarters

Amazon said Monday it received 238 proposals from cities and regions in the US, Canada and Mexico hoping to be the home of the company’s second headquarters.

The online retailer kicked off its search for another home base in September, promising to bring some 50,000 new jobs and spend more than $5 billion (4.3 billion euros) on construction.

Amazon had emphasized that tax breaks and grants would be important for picking a suitable location, with a decision due to be made “sometime next year.”

Massive interest

The US company did not list exactly which cities or metropolitan areas applied, but said the proposals came from 43 US states as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, three Mexican states and six Canadian provinces.

While looking for financial incentives, Amazon said it was also seeking to be near an area with more than a million people, be able to attract top technical talent and have direct access to mass transit.

For the winner, it could be worth it since the company headquarters could draw other tech businesses and their highly-paid employees.

Amazon plans to remain in its sprawling Seattle headquarters (pictured above) and the second one will be “a full equal” to it, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos noted.

hg/jd (AP, Reuters)

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