Amazon plans to build another US headquarters that's 'equal' in size to its Seattle campus (AMZN)

pulse

September 7, 2017 12:36 PM

Amazon HQ2 will cost $5 billion and eventually house up to 50,000 Amazon staff.

Amazon HQ2 will cost $5 billion (£3.8 billion) and eventually house up to 50,000 Amazon staff, Amazon said in a press release.

The ecommerce giant currently has its main HQ spread across 33 buildings in Seattle but its aggressive expansion means it is quickly running out of space in the city.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement.

"Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We're excited to find a second home."

Amazon employs more than 380,000 people worldwide, with around 40,000 of those in Seattle.

Amazon said it wants HQ2 to be in a metropolitan area with a "stable and business friendly environment" and more than 1 million people. The company also wants HQ2 to be within 45 minutes of an international airport and in a location where there is potential to attract strong technical talent.

Amazon made a point of stressing that HQ2 will be a "complete headquarters" for Amazon as opposed to a satellite office.

The company said it expects to hire new teams and execs at HQ2 and that employees in "HQ1" could be given the opportunity to relocate to HQ2.

Amazon is inviting city representatives and those working for regional economic development organizations to submit a proposal if they want to host Amazon's second headquarters.

Incentives offered by local governments will play a key role when Amazon comes to make a decision.

pulse