It is not hard to see why cities across North America want to be the location of Amazon’s new headquarters, but small and mid-size cities should beware. Two hundred thirty-eight cities in total will bid to join Seattle and become the tech giant’s second nerve center. Rochester, Albany, Buffalo and New York City will attempt to schmooze Amazon into setting up shop. As tempting as it may be for the upstate cities, The Big Apple is the only one that makes sense for the company and the state, but even they have shortcomings.
Amazon seeking to expand suggests the possibility of a future where Americans buy almost everything through them. Whole Foods is already owned by the retailer, and they are in the works to begin setting up physical stores in addition to their gargantuan online presence.
The prospect of a retail monopoly, or duopoly if Wal-Mart survives, is a scary one for the U.S. economy. These enormous corporations have the power to sell everything from socks to guns at prices with which local businesses cannot compete. Cities like Seattle, New York and Chicago may be able to withstand that given their diverse populations and abundance of choices for goods. The local markets in smaller cities will not stand much of a chance if Amazon begins delivering milk, shampoo and frozen pizza to doorsteps at a fraction of the cost.
According to The Washington Post, who is owned by Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos, the second headquarters has the potential to bring 50,000 jobs included in a $5 billion investment. City officials and developers are especially keen on this because it seems clear that Amazon will not be losing profit or popularity anytime soon as the fourth most valuable company in the U.S., according to The Financial Times. Mid-size cities see this as a chance to bring long-term economic success to their once prosperous towns.
These jobs are part of a rapidly expanding industry that require high-paying jobs for a highly skilled workforce. This type of workforce is not what populates mid-size industrial cities like Buffalo and Rochester. Albany may have an advantage with their proximity to New York City, but they likely lack the infrastructure to accommodate such an addition. What is more, none of these cities in the state, outside New York City, have the cultural attractions to satisfy thousands of new, techy millennials living there.
The Onion website mocked the capital’s chances at scoring Amazon’s new home-base with a headline, “Jeff Bezos’ Heart Breaks a Little Reading Albany’s Amazon Headquarters Pitch,” sarcastically citing the New York State Museum and The Egg as landmarks sure to attract the multi-billion-dollar company.
Amazon continues to grow their profits and expand into new industries. It makes sense then that they may look to the East Coast as the perfect place to compliment their original Pacific Northwestern location in Seattle. New York City has the money and resources to woo Amazon if they wish. Buffalo, Rochester and Albany should save their money.
Photo: Payton Chung via flickr
