Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Monday 22 January 2018
A25

Crunch time: What Amazon wants for its new HQ

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER university system is re-
AP Economics Writer quired.” Most cities on the
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just list can fulfill that demand,
20 cities are left standing in Berube and other econo-
the competition for Ama- mists said, with the possible
zon’s second headquarters exception of Indianapolis.
and the 50,000 jobs it will Columbus is the home of
bring. Now comes the hard Ohio State, while Nashville
part for the finalists — and has Vanderbilt. Pittsburgh
for Amazon. Based on the boasts Carnegie Mellon,
cities that made the cut, which houses leading pro-
and what the company grams on artificial intelli-
told some of the cities that gence and robotics.
didn’t, the company will PLANES, TRAINS AND BUSES
likely scrutinize six key cri- One thing Indianapolis
teria when making its final This Aug. 7, 2017, file photo shows an Amazon sign at a store in Hialeah, Fla. does have going for it, Ber-
call. It plans to announce Associated Press ube noted, is that city resi-
its decision later this year. fellow at the Brookings Insti- might be challenged by in talent from elsewhere. dents recently approved
The 20 cities include Austin, tution’s Metropolitan Policy the sheer size of Amazon’s Amazon says it wants a an additional tax to pump
Texas; Atlanta; Boston; New Project. That means strong expected needs. Nine of city with amenities that its millions of dollars into buses
York City; Washington, D.C.; relationships between area the nation’s 10 largest met- future employees will want and light rail. Most of the
Los Angeles; and Nashville, businesses, community col- ros are on Amazon’s list. to move to. That includes other finalists have exten-
Tennessee. Here’s what’s leges and universities. “Even among the largest everything from bike lanes sive public transit systems,
important: Amazon executives bluntly places on the list, the mar- to fast Internet and mo- said Tom Stringer, a man-
TALENT, TALENT, TALENT told officials from Kansas ket for tech workers would bile phone connections to aging director at BDO Con-
Among all of Amazon’s City, Missouri, that the re- be transformed by the new “recreational opportuni- sulting, who leads the firm’s
needs, high-skilled workers gion’s lack of highly-skilled demand for 50,000 work- ties,” according to Ama- site selection practice.
are at the top of the list. The technology workers cost it ers,” said Jed Kolko, chief zon’s request for proposals. A large, international air-
company has ventured far a spot on the final list, ac- economist at Indeed, a job That could help Nashville, port within 45 minutes is
beyond retail and shipping cording to Tim Cowden, listing website. with its music scene, or also critical, particularly for
into cutting-edge technol- CEO of the Kansas City Denver, Pittsburgh, Austin, Denver, with its proximity to frequent flights to Seattle
ogies, including artificial in- Area Development Coun- Indianapolis, Nashville, Ra- the Rocky Mountains. But and beyond. That could
telligence, robotics, drones cil. leigh and Columbus, Ohio it could also benefit cities be a roadblock for smaller
and voice recognition for SIZE MATTERS — all among the top 20 — with cheaper housing and cities such as Columbus, In-
its home speaker, the Echo. The state of Connecticut all have populations small- lower overall costs, such as dianapolis and Pittsburgh.
That’s likely to give a leg up applied for HQ2, including er than Seattle’s roughly 3.8 Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, At- GOODIES
to cities that already have proposals for Hartford and million. That could make it lanta and Philadelphia. It won’t all depend on ob-
large tech sectors, such as Stamford. But it was told the harder for those areas to “The thing that will attract jective criteria, to be sure.
Boston, New York, Washing- cities weren’t big enough. provide enough top-notch people more than anything Newark may very well have
ton D.C. and Raleigh, North “We received positive technical, managerial and else is an engaging job at landed on the list at least
Carolina, all of which were feedback from Amazon financial talent. a high wage, especially partly because it and the
on Amazon’s list. officials, but at the end of QUALITY OF LIFE if their high wages aren’t state of New Jersey offered
“They’re going to want the day did not have a Not all those 50,000 workers eaten up by high housing $7 billion in tax breaks and
to see that in the current large enough metropolitan have to be located right costs,” Kolko said. other incentives.
workforce, but will also area for this particular pro- now in whatever site Ama- HIGHER ED “They’re not a half-trillion
want a community that posal,” Governor Dannel zon chooses. The company To ensure a supply of high- dollar company for noth-
can come together and Malloy said. Smaller cities said its 50,000 hires will oc- ly-skilled labor in the future, ing, and they are going
marshal that in short order,” on the list, such as Raleigh, cur over 10 to 15 years, and Amazon said in its request to see what they can ex-
said Alan Berube, a senior Nashville and Indianapolis it clearly expects to pull for proposals that “a strong tract,” Berube said.q

Coke aims to recycle a bottle for each it sells by 2030

By JOSEPH PISANI, AP Retail ments and environmental
Writer groups to meet the recy-
NEW YORK (AP) — Coca- cling goals. It plans to recy-
Cola announced long- cle bottles and cans from
term recycling goals Friday, other companies, too.
including attempting to “The world has a packag-
recycle a bottle or can for ing problem - and, like all
every beverage it sells by companies, we have a re-
2030. The soda maker and sponsibility to help solve it,”
other consumer products CEO James Quincey said in
companies have been un- a statement Friday.
der pressure from custom- Greenpeace, which has
ers and environmental ad- criticized Coca-Cola be- In this March 17, 2011, file photo, cans of Coca-Cola and Diet
vocates to stop using plas- fore, said the company Coke sit in a cooler in Anne’s Deli in Portland, Ore.
tic packaging, and fast- should focus on reducing Associated Press
food giant McDonald’s un- the amount of plastic it Greenpeace campaigner the environment and end
veiled new recycling goals produces, rather than just Louise Edge, in a state- up in tiny forms that are
of its own just this week. recycling more. ment. eaten by animals and end
Coca-Cola Co. said it will “We can’t recycle our Unlike other materials, plas- up in food, environmental
work with local govern- way out of this mess,” said tics never break down in groups say.q