Cities Race For Amazon
By: Robert Haga
About a month ago Amazon announced that they would be constructing a HQ2 in North America. Amazon is one of the biggest and fastest growing companies in the world today. They are the biggest online shopping market in almost every industry except food, which could change after their recent purchase of Whole Foods, and after their announcement to build a new Headquarters in North America; 238 cities all over the continent are trying to get Amazon in their city. So why are so many cities trying to get Amazon to build in their area?
The benefits to Amazon economically are undeniably substantial. Amazon’s first HQ in Seattle, Washington has boosted their economy as the company has grown. On Amazon’s website they give the affects what their first HQ has done in the last 6 years, “Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy – every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional $1.40 for the city’s economy overall.” $38 billion dollars added to a city's economy due to only one company is unbelievable in itself, but taking into account that Amazon projects its new HQ to be even bigger with over 50,000 high paying jobs along with an investment of more than $5 billion dollars in construction of this new facility, there’s no wonder why so many cities are competing for this opportunity.
The magnitude of the facility will cause the construction build process to create tens of thousands of jobs along with tens of billions of dollars in the surrounding area. This will likely require a high populated area with a substantial tech labor force for the tens of thousands of tech jobs that will open up. This is why Dallas, Texas is rated the number 1 choice for the new HQ. Texas in general has some of the best tech schools in America. This is a big attraction for Amazon as one of the hardest parts of choosing a location in finding enough qualified young workers to quickly fill the positions needed. Texas has other attractions as well as their low cost of living and lack of income taxe are some of the reasons for Dallas is considered the number 1 choice. These factors cause Dallas to out rank cities like Boston, Atlanta, and Washington DC.
Cities around the country have been trying things like alternative transportation, business friendly policies, local funding for the business, and etc.. to make them look like a better fit for Amazon’s HQ2, which have caused controversy between their citizens saying they don’t what increased taxes to fund Amazon or new means of transportation which are alternatives from automobiles.
Although Dallas is the number 1 choice on the outside deals can be made that make less likely cities more attractive to Amazon and Dallas is still just one of 238 cities that might get Amazon’s approval.
Works Cited
Bizjournals.com, www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2017/11/14/dallas-named-top-contender-for-amazon-s-new.html.
“Amazon Announces 238 Proposals for HQ2 from across North America.” Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More, www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=17044620011.
Parilla, Joseph. “Which Cities Are Well Positioned to Land Amazon's HQ2?” Brookings, Brookings, 8 Sept. 2017, www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/09/08/which-cities-are-well-positioned-to-land-amazons-hq2/.
I shop from Amazon a lot and think it's amazing that they are coming up here because it will make and create a lot of jobs and a lot of money. It's interesting that they bought Whole Foods and I am curious to see how the food business works with shipping and things like that. I think this is a topic a lot of people find interesting because like you said, Amazon is one of the biggest ways to shop and is such a fast growing business and I am excited to see what the future holds.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Adding an Amazon HQ to a city is very good for the surrounding economy. On the other hand you have to assume that this HQ would take up a lot of space and could take a long time to build. Big cities like Dallas and Chicago might not have enough room for this huge Head Quarters because they are very dense. Also buying land in these cities would most likely be very expensive if there is even enough room to build it on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Alex. I should have been more specific about were exactly the HQ would be built as Dallas itself would as you said have the space for the facility which is why It would be build outside of the metro area as it will still have a close large population to supply workers and also have affordable and enough space for the deal. Also, Dallas is likely to give Amazon a good price for the land as an intensive to build there.
DeleteIt is crazy to think about how many cities are in the "sweepstakes" to get amazon to come to their city. I haven't done much research on a new amazon head quarters, but I do know it with significantly benefit the economy in many ways. For example, by building a new headquarters, it will create numerous about of construction jobs to build the headquarters
ReplyDeleteIf Amazon created a New HQ that would be beneficial for everyone. Not only will people have better access to Amazon, therefore creating more business, but they would also be creating more jobs that can benefit the people. It would also be beneficial for the new HQ to be in Texas because of the high population and the technology.
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job of talking about the pluses of having the new Amazon HQ2, with the amount of economic boost it would cause for the city. I believe Dallas, Texas would be the best fit for the new Amazon HQ2 because with the increase in jobs created from the HQ, it would also increase the employment of construction workers for the area to build this new center. And it is true that schools in Texas are very tech-savvy, meaning there will be mass amounts of citizens being qualified for jobs at Amazon HQ2. With the creation of the new HQ2, it will also require more housing to be built for all the employees and citizens that wish to be employees by moving to Texas in an effort to apply and get hired. Although, I do wish for the new Amazon HQ2 to go to Chicago to be closer to Wisconsin, the best fit economically would be to have it in Dallas, Texas.
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of like the recent Foxconn deal here in Wisconsin, but on a bigger scale. I tend to think these kinds of deals do not produce as much profit as they originally promise, but Amazon is a whole separate deal. Amazon is one of the most recognized companies in America, and there is no denying that they would be able to bring in more jobs than the Seattle HQ. I believe this would exponentially increase the economy for any city that Amazon decides to build in.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Amazon Buildings coming to big cities is a great idea! Just thinking of the new jobs that each city will get is incredible. However, I agree with what Alex says, where would these HQ's be put, if there even is room? However, if they did find the room, the expenses would be payed off in a fast manor, as nearly everyone shops on amazon, shipping will be cheaper and faster, thus creating more and more purchases off the site.
ReplyDeleteThe impact on the areas surrounding the new headquarters would see an increase in many of the markets such as housing as housing would need to be built for the massive influx of people that would be working there. For example if the location of the headquarters is in Chicago the underground rail system between the airport and Chicago would see a lot more use due to the fact that the workers may choose to live in Wisconsin and make the daily trip into Chicago compared to driving there.
ReplyDeleteI think that amazon should move a very large popular city as it has more business and many other companies are doing the same. One thing you do have to consider is environmental impact which most likely causes these business's to headquarter in areas near big cities where they have more room and can have more pollution there.
ReplyDeleteI think that Amazon's headquarters cause pollution since it's a big factory type building. Moving to a large city where there is already pollution would help with the environment, and also would help with their sales since there are more people living in a large city.
ReplyDeleteAmazon buildings can bring many job opportunities and other intern/insight opportunities for other schools around. However, the pollution could increase since it's such a grand building. I don't know how it could be beneficial in the environmental aspect, because it would be in a city already among pollution, but there would obviously be more pollution.
ReplyDeleteAmazon coming into a city like Milwaukee would probably increase pollution but the pollution effects would still have to follow government guidelines so they would be pretty minimal. The economic boost would be great for any state. I think a parallel to this would be foxconn which you could have mentioned has a lot of similarities to this Amazon bidding like giving 3 billion in incentives. I liked how you incorporated the good that the current Amazon headquarters is doing for Seattle as it provided evidence of the economic boost of a new HQ.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the deal with pollution as Amazon isn't a power plant for coal or uranium. It's a shipment company.
DeleteBy adding Amazon HQ's in cities it is clearly raising the economy in multiple ways. Just to make the building creates thousands of jobs for people. Just imagine what they would do economically when they are finished being built. They would create even more jobs by finding people to work inside the HQ building.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great opportunity for a lot of people, the citizens in whatever city Amazon chooses and also people outside of that city. Amazon is huge company and is always growing and they constantly attrack new shoppers. The company participates in huge sales, even black friday sales which really does attract a lot of people, even those who normally don't shop on Amazon. Because it is so huge there is a need for them to have a new HQ, and I know even Milwaukee made a proposal to Amazon to base the new headquarters. I honestly don't think it's the best choice for Amazon to come here, but who knows, we could have an Amazon Headqaurters coming soon near us.
ReplyDeleteI agree having the Amazon Headquarters in America will be highly beneficial to the people in the surrounding area. By creating more jobs and opportunities, America will get closer to reaching the economic goal of full employment, which is to provide jobs for all citizens who are willing and able to work. In addition, other companies will follow Amazon, creating more jobs and help strengthen the economy. After doing more research, I found that Amazon is not planning to build enough cafeterias or coffee bar space for their workers as well. This will limit the number of substitute goods available so that the workers are forced to become active in the surrounding restaurants and shops. Furthermore, this will only add to the income of the workers in the surrounding area, boosting economic activity and spending. However, one negative to the headquarters is that the price of living may increase.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing to see a company like amazon be able to diversify what types of products they sell, which in turn aid the economy of the city in which they’re stationed in. But does amazon have competition with other companies when establishing in a new city?
ReplyDeleteI agree that any city who becomes chosen to be the next location for an Amazon headquarters location will benefit greatly from the influx of income, jobs, and opportunities. However, as has already been stated, there are many concerns that competing cities have regarding whether or not the presence of a headquarters will disadvantage those already living there. For example it could raise the cost of living and drive out people who are already present in the areas to neighborhoods where the rent or price of housing and living might be cheaper. I believe that while on the surface it may look extremely good for any city's economy, that administrators and economists should take a long hard look and be sure that the benefits will outweigh the costs of moving this multinational corporation into their surrounding area.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the creation of Amazon locations in cities that are chosen will definitely be beneficial to the economy of the area. Amazon facilities will create many jobs, since Amazon has millions of products that they offer online. This makes it more possible for those cities to approach full employment. However, Amazon is huge competition for smaller local businesses, and the creation of a HQ in these cities will most likely drive many other businesses out of business.
ReplyDeleteIt's plainly clear that the addition of an Amazon HQ will benefit the overall economy of whatever location it chooses. That being said, areas that experience rapid economic growth generally only benefit a select few people. For instance, states and countries that find large quantities of oil will find a surge of wealth and then the cost of living in that area will likely rise with the increased economic production. I fear that the low cost of living in an area like Dallas, Texas could be greatly disturbed should a large operation like this decide to set up there.
ReplyDeleteOne form of non price competition between companies is location. By adding another large HQ in North America, Amazon will be able to reach its customers quickly and more effectively, differentiating its products and services and giving it a leg up over its competitors. In order to take full advantage of this, Amazon should try and put their HQ in a city with high population and traffic, so that the most people possible can utilize Amazon's faster delivery.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me disappointed that such large corporations have the influence to bring a state to its knees in order to fulfill promises of "economic prosperity". While yes, the opportunity for local regions to improve their economic stability are definitely present, there are still risks that have to be taken, as well as the projections that are blow up by experienced politicians. as with Wisconsin and their incentives given to Foxconn, I certainly hope a trend of economic bust doesn't come from the advent of this new "pay to play" system that corporations have now seized.
ReplyDelete