Following an RFP process that had cities across North America competing vigorously — and publicly — to win Amazon’s HQ2, the e-commerce giant has made a surprising request to the remaining contenders: Keep the details secret.
While cities may exhibit discretion moving forward, the cat is already out of the bag on a number of bid details, including $7B in incentives from New Jersey and $5B from Maryland, and the speculation is bound to continue, CNBC reports.
Some say Amazon’s latest move to push a private agenda will allow it to quietly gather data on the remaining cities, allowing it to barter even more favorable deals, according to CNBC. Others believe the decision has already been made and the bidding process has simply been a public relations stunt.
Whatever the reason, the nail-biting competition for Amazon's second headquarters is on, and a continent awaits word of the winner.
The second headquarters will house 50,000 Amazon employees and be the beneficiary of a $5B economic investment, according to the company. The tech giant received 238 proposals, from 54 states, provinces and districts across North America, for HQ2. The only U.S. states that did not apply were Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming and North and South Dakota, The Real Deal reports.
CORRECTION, JAN. 30, 9:37 A.M. ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed one of the states that did not submit a bid for Amazon HQ2. The story has been updated.
