Phoenix still in the running but down the list for Amazon HQ2
Nov 1, 2017, 5:00 AM | Updated: 5:11 pm
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, file photo, an Amazon employee gives her dog a biscuit as the pair head into a company building, where dogs are welcome, in Seattle. Amazon says it received 238 proposals from cities and regions hoping to be the home of the company's second headquarters. The online retailer kicked off its hunt for a second headquarters in September, promising to bring 50,000 new jobs. It will announce a decision sometime in 2018. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
PHOENIX — Phoenix may be on the outside looking in following two reports suggesting the new Amazon headquarters, HQ2, will be built in Washington D.C., not the Valley.
The first report, done by Baird Equity Research, sees Phoenix at No. 20 on the list of potential suitors for the headquarters.
One reason for the ranking is due to the low number of Amazon corporate job openings, the report stated.
As of October 27, Phoenix is shown to have 16 corporate job openings compared to Washington D.C.’s 531.
In another analysis, done by Thinkful Inc., ranks Phoenix even lower.
Using a data science method called recommendation systems, which the company uses to recommend new things to consumers, ranked Phoenix at No. 26.
In all, nine factors played a part in determining where Phoenix matched up against other cities in the research.
The nine categories used were: Business friendly climate, high quality of life, educated population, robust mass transit system, optimal fiber optic connectivity, optimal mobile coverage, strong university system, diverse population and within 30 miles to population center.
Amazon already employs 5,000 people in the Valley with another 1,000 being added.
