7 Reasons Why It’s Smart for Amazon to Select Providence for Second HQ and 50,000 Jobs
Friday, September 08, 2017
On Thursday, Amazon announced it is looking for a location for its second corporate headquarters - and it could mean 50,000 jobs. In addition, Amazon says the construction will likely total $5 billion.
Conventional wisdom is that Providence would not be at the top of the list for corporate headquarters, but as Amazon's Jeff Bezos is quoted as saying, "If you decide that you’re going to do only the things you know are going to work, you’re going to leave a lot of opportunity on the table."
SLIDES: 7 Reasons Why Providence Can - and Should - Win New Amazon Location BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community,” according to the company’s announcement.
How big is Amazon in Seattle, where it has its current headquarters? “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 1.4 dollars for the city’s economy overall," claims the company.
Within hours of the announcement on Thursday, Governor Gina Raimondo called together senior staff and outlined her strong desire to pursue the Amazon HQ2.
Amazon is GE Times 50
In January of 2016, Providence lost out to Boston for General Electric's new corporate headquarters. Providence was one of the three finalists.
In August, GE announced that it is breaking its $200 million development into two phases. Meanwhile, GE is looking at major cuts to its work force -- Jeff Immelt, the long-time CEO, was forced to resign this summer and its stock is one of the worst performing on the S&P 500.
The decision by GE will push back the construction of the 2.5-acre campus back to 2021. This will delay the hiring of hundreds of workers.
Now, it is Providence’s opportunity. Read the seven reasons why Providence can and should win.
Related Slideshow: 7 Reasons Why It’s Smart for Amazon to Select Providence
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