Amazon seeking second headquarters outside of Seattle

Amazon is setting its sights beyond Seattle and looking for another North American city to set up a second headquarters.

GeekWire reports that the retail giant aims to construct a second headquarters that is a “full equal” to its Seattle operation in South Lake Union. Amazon has been constructing a new facilities there for years and has plans for further expansion.

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The second headquarters — referred to as Amazon HQ2 — is slated for $5 billion and will host up to 50,000 high-paying jobs, according to the company’s press release. The company is now shopping around for cities throughout North America to plant HQ2. GeekWire calls the move “unprecedented” and says it “suggests the company has outgrown Seattle.”

The announcement comes after the Seattle headquarters — as well as globally — has swelled with employees. In fact, Amazon had more than 341,000 employees company-wide by the end of 2016, adding 110,000 over the previous year — its fastest growth in employment ever. Currently, Amazon has a stated goal of adding 100,000 more employees between 2017-18. The latest numbers indicate that Amazon now has a total of 382,000 workers.

As it looks to expand beyond South Lake Union, the company says it seeks a new city with “strong local and regional talent — particularly in software development and related fields …”

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