Amazon will divide its new headquarters between two locations: Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., and in Queens in New York City. When The Journal first reported on this likely move, they 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.
