4 ms·

Knew that they wouldn't pick Toronto - Trump would have blown a gasket

by baseballMan 8y ago

Ensorceled 8y ago
We lost the bidding war. Seeing what concessions the other cities coughed up ... I'm maybe glad we didn't "win".
prolikewh0a 8y ago
Toronto dodged a bullet.
- m23khan 8y ago
  No, it didn't dodge a bullet, it lost the competition and hence the opportunity. Unless you are a subject matter expert and know exactly how this benefits Toronto (In which case then, I apologize). By virtue of moving into Toronto, all Canadian cities starting from Pickering/Oshawa all the way down to Hamilton/Waterloo would have seen a boost overtime to real-estate and hence towards economic activity - remember cities like Hamilton and Barrie are struggling to attract highly-educated / high-income residents and this would have given them better odds. All in all, loss of potential income for the Canadian economy.
  - prolikewh0a 8y ago
    I live in Seattle and have lived in Seattle. I know exactly the effects this has, and it's not beneficial except to the already wealthy. Great if you're rich, terrible if you're anything other than rich (hint: most people aren't rich).
dunpeal 8y ago
Kinda pointless to open a huge office for recruitment, where virtually all your top talent is trying to get to the US to benefit from far better employment terms and compensation.
bepotts 8y ago
Toronto wasn't chosen because Toronto wasn't competitive. People that live in Toronto talk about how they're underpaid and how their tech sector pales in comparison to major US cities. Even many Waterloo CS graduates have a "US or bust" type mentality because of the labor market disparities. Amazon would be foolish to choose a location in Canada due to a their healthcare system and immigration situation. Healthcare isn't that big a deal to a company like Amazon and regardless of the current administration, Americans have never been more supportive of immigration. Canadians were naive to think they were competitive for an Amazon, and they're wrong if they think Amazon would have chosen them if they weren't so concerned about blowback. Sometimes, America being welcoming to big businesses has its advantages.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
tinyhouse 8y ago
As a single location I agree. However, since they picked two, picking Toronto as one of them could've been a good idea. They can pay much higher than marker rate there to keep local talent and the easier immigration is a big plus. My guess is that the proximity of NYC and Arlington, VA was a key factor. It's much easier to travel when you can just hop on a train for a few hours.
acchow 8y ago
How could Amazon's HQ2 open in Toronto? What percentage of global talent would be willing to move there?
blablabla007 8y ago
Toronto (and Canada overall) is also in the midst of housing bubble. Both location Amazon picked are cheaper - ponder this for a moment. Source: live in Toronto and looking at moving south due to housing. Not willing to buy a dump for 1 million, Toronto is not THAT good.

Knew that they wouldn't pick Toronto - Trump would have blown a gasket

Ensorceled 8y ago

We lost the bidding war. Seeing what concessions the other cities coughed up ... I'm maybe glad we didn't "win".

prolikewh0a 8y ago

Toronto dodged a bullet.

m23khan 8y ago
No, it didn't dodge a bullet, it lost the competition and hence the opportunity. Unless you are a subject matter expert and know exactly how this benefits Toronto (In which case then, I apologize). By virtue of moving into Toronto, all Canadian cities starting from Pickering/Oshawa all the way down to Hamilton/Waterloo would have seen a boost overtime to real-estate and hence towards economic activity - remember cities like Hamilton and Barrie are struggling to attract highly-educated / high-income residents and this would have given them better odds. All in all, loss of potential income for the Canadian economy.
- prolikewh0a 8y ago
  I live in Seattle and have lived in Seattle. I know exactly the effects this has, and it's not beneficial except to the already wealthy. Great if you're rich, terrible if you're anything other than rich (hint: most people aren't rich).

dunpeal 8y ago

Kinda pointless to open a huge office for recruitment, where virtually all your top talent is trying to get to the US to benefit from far better employment terms and compensation.

bepotts 8y ago

Toronto wasn't chosen because Toronto wasn't competitive. People that live in Toronto talk about how they're underpaid and how their tech sector pales in comparison to major US cities. Even many Waterloo CS graduates have a "US or bust" type mentality because of the labor market disparities. Amazon would be foolish to choose a location in Canada due to a their healthcare system and immigration situation. Healthcare isn't that big a deal to a company like Amazon and regardless of the current administration, Americans have never been more supportive of immigration. Canadians were naive to think they were competitive for an Amazon, and they're wrong if they think Amazon would have chosen them if they weren't so concerned about blowback. Sometimes, America being welcoming to big businesses has its advantages.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

tinyhouse 8y ago

As a single location I agree. However, since they picked two, picking Toronto as one of them could've been a good idea. They can pay much higher than marker rate there to keep local talent and the easier immigration is a big plus. My guess is that the proximity of NYC and Arlington, VA was a key factor. It's much easier to travel when you can just hop on a train for a few hours.

acchow 8y ago

How could Amazon's HQ2 open in Toronto? What percentage of global talent would be willing to move there?

blablabla007 8y ago

Toronto (and Canada overall) is also in the midst of housing bubble. Both location Amazon picked are cheaper - ponder this for a moment. Source: live in Toronto and looking at moving south due to housing. Not willing to buy a dump for 1 million, Toronto is not THAT good.