Could Atlanta be in the running for second Amazon headquarters? (Douglas: discounts, assault)

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Atlanta Against Amazon

Lol

They don’t have to worry about now after all NRA stuff.

You obviously haven't been paying attention this week.

[paris-on-ponce]

Originally Posted by seussie

11alive.com | Flyers, graffiti in Atlanta protest Amazon and HQ2

Protestors argue most jobs will be given to folk out of state...

Most employees of Amazon’s HQ2 probably will come from somewhere other than Georgia. But so what? Let’s say just 20 percent of Amazon HQ2 employees were from here. And the other 80 percent came from the rest of … Earth. That’s pretty remarkable.

Currently, Georgia Tech is one of the top feeder schools for Amazon employees. It’s probably top 5 but it’s definitely top 10.

Think about that. Amazon is currently headquartered over 3000 miles away from Georgia and a school in downtown Atlanta is still one of the top feeder schools for Amazon employees right now. It’s up there with the usual suspects like Stanford and CalTech.

As for the top feeder school for Amazon employees..? It's The University of Washington. Amazon employs more graduates from UDub than from any other school. This, despite the fact that UDub isn’t even as prestigious a STEM school as Stanford or Georgia Tech. So why do they hire so many people from the University of Washington? Because they’re in the same city!

Now, imagine Amazon HQ2 was headquartered within literal walking distance of Georgia Tech. Without a doubt, Amazon would hire an even greater percentage of Tech graduates than they already do.

They’d also hire more graduates from other local colleges and universities like Emory, SCAD, the HBCUs, GA State, and UGA.

It’s also worth noting that Amazon’s second headquarters isn’t like a movie production that moves into town temporarily and brings much of their talent from out of state. Film crews fly in from LA, shoot the film, and take their money and experience back home with them to California. But the people Amazon hires, whether they hail from GA or not, become GA residents the instant they sign on the dotted line. They move here. Buy homes here. And, if they also went to college here at a school like GA Tech, will look locally first if and when they leave Amazon for another tech company.

Also, for the folks in that article who worry it would increase traffic congestion? Ha! Bit late for that. 50,000 employees in a metro of six and a half million? Please. If anything, many Amazon employees will want to live close to HQ2 and walk to work or commute through means other than driving. And, Amazon moving here and building out a campus in the Gulch is basically the city's best shot at passing a bunch of transit improvements.

[bryantm3]

One of the biggest incentives HQ2 offers to its prospective cities is its promise to create 50,000 new jobs. This couldn’t be more false. We already know that the high-paying tech positions will not be filled by local residents, but by highly-qualified professionals imported from across the country and around the world. As for the few less-skilled positions, many of those who are currently ‘employed’ by Amazon do not work directly for the company itself, but are hired by third party agencies for temporary contracted labor. This way, Amazon shirks responsibility for providing benefits and worker’s compensation, and workers can be terminated without reason. Temporary work agencies also help Amazon quickly hire new workers to replace those who have been fired, injured, or who have quit, as most employees don’t last more than a few months. This practice of “hire and fire” means that Amazon doesn’t have to worry about giving their workers advancements or raises, and the rapid turnover rate makes it difficult for those who last with the company to organize for better working conditions.

Inside Amazon’s warehouses, workers are treated like prisoners on parole. They are strapped with tracking devices that monitor their productivity in calculated units. These devices link performance measuring algorithms to an automated disciplinary system, where workers are docked “points” for not working hard enough, getting sick, or spending too much time in the bathroom. Amazon has more data regarding its workers than any employer in history, and they use this data to constantly optimize the process of production, quickly terminating and replacing those not operating at maximum efficiency. Maybe this is why Jeff Bezos was recently voted Worst Boss in the World.

that's really messed up if that is true.

[JoeP]

ou speculate that this dust-up "would give them pause on expansion possibly and cause them to look to other locations".

Did you not see the Delta CEO's statement that they are totally committed to Atlanta, that this is their home and they are proud to be ingrained here?

Jesus, will you ever post anything positive about Atlanta?

Yes, I referred to expansion, not leaving. Yes I saw what he said, but you didn't read what I wrote because you have a script and don't care what I wrote.

Yes, I say things positive about Atlanta all of the time and my comments here are not against Atlanta.
If you actually read what I wrote, I'm referring to the implications of state actions.

Move on.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by JMatl

You obviously haven't been paying attention this week.

Did Amazon say it didn’t matter? Doubt it.

[WRnative]

Amazon has a very friendly political and cultural environment in Seattle.

The question is whether Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post and a frequent target of Pres. Trump, wants to insert himself into an unfriendly environment in Atlanta currently dominated by partisan Republicans extremely willing to insert themselves into private business decisions for non-economic reasons?

By comparison for example, Toronto reportedly has lower business costs than any American city (e.g., no health insurance costs due to national healthcare), very tech-friendly immigration policies, massive support for higher education, etc.

Having a more neutral international bastion also may pay big dividends in coming years as Amazon expands internationally.

Libertarians, which others posting in this thread have argued describes Bezos' political leanings, generally favor social policies very different than socially conservative Republicans.

Do Amazon employees relish relocating from a state with very liberal social policies, such as abortion and assisted suicide rights, to the likes of Georgia?

If you read the Amazon HQ2 materials, Amazon anticipates relocating entire divisions from Seattle to the new HQ location. So certainly, the cultural and political atmosphere in the HQ2 city may be an important consideration.

The attacks on Delta certainly have highlighted the cultural/political atmosphere in Georgia for Bezos and other Amazon executives.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by WRnative

The question is whether Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post and a frequent target of Pres. Trump, wants to insert himself into an unfriendly environment in Atlanta currently dominated by partisan Republicans extremely willing to insert themselves into private business decisions for non-economic reasons?

And the answer very well could be yes. For smarter reasons than those surface-deep more obvious ones.

Do you think Jeff Bezos would rather flip a non-insignificant 16 electoral votes (soon to be more) of already sorta-purple-leaning Georgia, to blue? Impact a currently red state in ways that could potentially change the political trajectory of the entire country?

Would he rather do that with his (mostly young and mostly liberal) 50,000+ employees? Or would he waste all that potential on a state that's already blue anyway?

What would you think would be his strategy, given his heavily socially liberal leanings, and his vision for how the country should be run?

Wouldn't he rather flip a senator or 2? Wouldn't he rather get LGBT-protection laws in place in Georgia?

Etc etc.

Plus the fact that Georgia is very business friendly, and Bezos likes that. (He actively lobbies against redistribution/big government stuff in Washington state.)

Clearly he's a libertarian, and all Georgia really needs is a little nudge on the social policies side, in order to be a very relatively libertarian state.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by primaltech

And the answer very well could be yes. For smarter reasons than those surface-deep more obvious ones.

Do you think Jeff Bezos would rather flip a non-insignificant 16 electoral votes (soon to be more) of already sorta-purple-leaning Georgia, to blue? Impact a currently red state in ways that could potentially change the political trajectory of the entire country?

Would he rather do that with his (mostly young and mostly liberal) 50,000+ employees? Or would he waste all that potential on a state that's already blue anyway?

What would you think would be his strategy, given his heavily socially liberal leanings, and his vision for how the country should be run?

Wouldn't he rather flip a senator or 2? Wouldn't he rather get LGBT-protection laws in place in Georgia?

Etc etc.

Plus the fact that Georgia is very business friendly, and Bezos likes that. (He actively lobbies against redistribution/big government stuff in Washington state.)

Clearly he's a libertarian, and all Georgia really needs is a little nudge on the social policies side, in order to be a very relatively libertarian state.

It really does seem to boil down to a chess game, eh, PT?

[FireStation46]

I am betting on DC

They have the millennials. The nite life. The universities. The subway system ( dont even think about driving in DC, your head will explode stuck in traffic), the airport to get back to HQ1.

It also puts Amazon in close with the GOP, Dems and the few independents.

Amazon likely decided long before they announced this plan. All the cities threw the $$$ and perks at Amazon.

For and future sites after #2, Amazon already knows how much they can squeeze out of cities for future projects as these cities laid it all out there for HQ 2 contest.

Amazon will likely play off the 20 finalists to pick the winner they had secretly picked long before this “contest” began.

Great free marketing.

God help the city that wins. The impact will be more than the folks in that city could have ever imagined

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Did Amazon say it didn’t matter? Doubt it.

Please divulge what they have stated publicly in regards to any of the 20 finalists.

You can't, because they haven't.