Inside INdiana Business is reporting that Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) has officially announced a decision to split its second headquarters between New York City and northern Virginia. The company first announced plans for HQ2 in 2017, with plans for a $5 billion investment and 50,000 jobs. Early this year, Indianapolis was named one of 20 finalists for the project.
Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos says “we are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia. These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the e-commerce giant decided to go with two locations to make it easier to recruit enough tech talent. At the time, the publication said the company was in late-stage talks with New York City, Crystal City, Virginia and Dallas. Several national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, began reporting Monday that the choice of New York and the Washington D.C. suburb was final.
Gary and Hammond also submitted bids for the project, but were not selected as finalists.
When Indy was chosen as a finalist, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the move showed the city is “punching above our weight” as an attractive tech hub. In January, TechPoint Chief Executive Officer Mike Langellier said, regardless of Amazon’s ultimate choice, Indy’s inclusion as a finalist made a “powerful statement” to other companies looking for prime locations. He says the decision shows the city has a highly-skilled workforce, a strong university pipeline and an attractive live, work and play environment.