Amazon Announces Dual Headquarters— One in New York City
|| Graphic by Bernadette Berdychowski
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced on Tuesday morning that their new headquarters (dubbed “HQ2”) will be split between New York City and Northern Virginia.
According to the company’s statement, a new HQ2 will be built in both Long Island City in New York and Arlington, Virginia.
The company’s announcement comes after months of speculation over the location of new headquarters - which included options like Atlanta, Boston, Miami and others.
“We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, in the company’s blog post. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”
According to Amazon, the two new headquarters will receive a $2.5 billion investment each from Amazon and will employ over 25,000 workers respectively, with hiring to begin in the next year.
The location in Long Island City will reportedly be a facility with up to 8 million square feet of energy-efficient office space, with “estimated incremental tax revenue of more than $10 billion over the next 20 years as a result of Amazon’s investment and job creation.”
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York expressed his enthusiasm over the decision, the company reported.
“When I took office, I said we would build a new New York State – one that is fiscally responsible and fosters a business climate that is attractive to growing companies and the industries of tomorrow. We’ve delivered on those promises and more, and today, with Amazon committing to expand its headquarters in Long Island City, New York can proudly say that we have attracted one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history,” Cuomo said.
Still, not everyone is excited over the news.
Many notable politicians have spoken out, including recently elected Congresswoman-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The politician took to Twitter to voice her concerns over what having Amazon’s HQ2 in New York City could mean for the existing population.
Despite controversy, many see promise in the tech giant’s new camp. The company will allegedly offer average salaries of $150,000 per year. Amazon’s choice, according to Cuomo, “is a giant step on our path to building an economy in New York City that leaves no one behind.”
Amazon began trading Tuesday morning around $1,650 per share and has since risen to $1,655 at noon - up 0.21 percent from the stock’s previous close on Monday.