Amazon is currently looking for a location for their second headquarters in North America. The company has a list of 20 different cities where the new location could potentially be placed.
The new headquarters is said to bring as many as 50,000 jobs. Their plan is to make the location a equivalent to their headquarters in Seattle. According to Amazon, they currently have employed over 540,000 people worldwide.
“There would be subsequent jobs like packaging and other economic boosts because of Amazon being there,” senior Laren Houstoun said.
Columbus, Ohio is another location on Amazon’s list of locations. Junior Rebecca Johnson said that Chase, The Brands and other companies already have their headquarters in or near Columbus.
“It makes a lot of sense for them to choose Columbus,” Johnson said. “We’re in the middle of the state and we have several airports surrounding us.”
Sophomore Cayde Newton thinks that Raleigh, North Carolina would be a great location for the new headquarters because it would be in the northeastern side of North America and would probably be a cheaper location compared to others on the list.
“There’s this area between Raleigh and Durham called the Research Triangle Park,” Newton said. “That is where a lot of big businesses are headquartered.”
Businesses like Lenovo, IBM and Biogen are all headquartered in the Research Triangle Park.
“I think Amazon coming would be very natural and comfortable,” Newton said.
Newton sees this move as a normal change for Raleigh’s economy and local culture.
“I think it is a good place for any company to move because it’s an area that lacks a distinct culture,” Newton said. “For a city like Little Rock, if it were to come in, it would be very different for the culture.”
Newton said that he believes that the company could easily find people needing entry level jobs.
“If they’re locating it on the north end of Raleigh, there is a lot of people with lower-income that would be more than happy to work,” Newton said.
There are several colleges surrounding the Raleigh area, including Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Davidson College are all nearby. Newton sees this as a good opportunity for those looking for jobs requiring a higher education and those looking for entry level jobs.
Amazon is making this decision publicly, so that everyone is involved with helping make the decision. It is not clear when they will officially announce where the new headquarters will be located. Stay up to date with Amazon on their Twitter account @amazonnews.
