Amazon is planning to divide its new headquarters between two locations, with one likely in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., and the other in Queens in New York City, according to reports yesterday (November 5th) by The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. However, the Journal said Dallas is also being discussed as possible location. Amazon refused to comment. The Journal said the main reason for having two new facilities is to be able to recruit enough talent, and because splitting the 50,000 employees between two locations would also relieve pressure on housing and transportation in the areas.
A competition was launched after Amazon announced last year that it was going to open up a second headquarters in addition to the main one in Seattle, with locations submitting proposals to try to be chosen, and the company emphasizing it wanted monetary incentives such as tax breaks and grants. Amazon also said it wanted a city with more than one million people, an airport within 45 minutes, direct access to mass transit and room to expand. The company received 238 proposals before narrowing the list to 20 in January.
