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Amazon Scouts for Second Headquarters With $5B Price Tag

by Reuters

   Amazon.com said on Thursday it was searching for a location to build
   its second headquarters in North America that would cost more than $5
   billion and house up to 50,000 staff.

   The e-commerce company, which is headquartered in Seattle, said it was
   seeking proposals from local and state government leaders and would
   select the location next year.

   Amazon's workforce has exploded to more than 380,000 from under 25,000
   since it moved to Seattle in 2010, as it rapidly expanded to become a
   global retailer - selling everything from groceries to appliances.

   The company's total revenue has grown to $136 billion at the end of
   last year from $34 billion in 2010. Amazon recently snatched up Whole
   Foods Market for $13.7 billion.

   Amazon said the new headquarters should ideally be located in a
   metropolitan area with more than one million people, potentially giving
   the company a shopping list of more than 50 cities to choose from.

   The project would initially need more than 500,000 square feet and up
   to 8 million square feet beyond 2027, Amazon said.

   "We want to find a city that is excited to work with us and where our
   customers, employees, and the community can all benefit," Amazon said.

   Amazon is looking for a favorable tax structure and local government
   subsidies, incentives that have attracted other companies like
   Taiwan-based Foxconn to build facilities in the United States.

   Foxconn plans to build a $10 billion liquid crystal display factory in
   Wisconsin. The state's Republican-controlled government had voted to
   approve a bill aimed at establishing a $3 billion incentive package for
   the plant.

   Amazon expects the new headquarters to be a "full equal" to its Seattle
   office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

   The Seattle campus is spread across 8.1 million square feet in 33
   buildings and employs more than 40,000 people.

   Amazon's shares were up 1 percent at $978 on Thursday morning.