Cities from all across the United States are voraciously wooing Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos in an effort to entice him to build the new Amazon headquarters in their backyard.
The New York Times reports that business leaders in Tucson tried to mail Bezos a 21-foot cactus and mayors across the country have been posting YouTube videos pledging their devotion to the company, including the mayor of Danbury, Connecticut, Mark D. Boughton, who touted himself as a “proud Amazon Customer.”
These business leaders and mayors stand to gain immensely and potentially change their cities forever if Amazon picks them. The internet giant plans to invest $5 billion and 50,000 well-paying jobs.
“Towns and cities are willing to promise all kinds of stuff to Amazon – tax breaks, relocation credits, prime real estate,” said Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn during an interview with Boston Public Radio Tuesday.
“It is extraordinary the bidding war going on,” she said.
Click above to listen to our interview with Harvard Business School Historian Nancy Koehn.
