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Amazon starts search for second headquarters

The new headquarters would add as many as 50,000 jobs and invest $5 billion.

Amazon says it plans to hire 30,000 part-time workers in then next year. Getty photo

Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com announced Thursday that it is in the market for what it's calling a second headquarters.

In a statement, the company founded and run by billionaire Jeff Bezos said it wants to open its "HQ2" somewhere in North America. It's expected to house up to 50,000 employees and cost approximately $5 billion to build and operate.

The company, which is currently soliciting bids for the project, said it would prioritize metropolitan areas with more than one million people and that it was encouraging interested communities to think "big" and "creatively" about possible locations.

Amazon said HQ2 will be a complete headquarters for Amazon — not a satellite office. It said it expects to hire new teams and executives in HQ2, and will also let existing senior leaders across the company decide whether to locate their teams in HQ1, HQ2 or both.

Employees currently working in HQ1 can choose to continue working there, or they could have an opportunity to move if they would prefer to be located in HQ2, it said.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," Bezos said.

"Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home."

Amazon estimated that its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy.

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