Amazon Seeking 2nd Headquarters: Canadian Cities Pitch Interest

[vid]

Ottawa's airport is the service centre for the north (ie, Nunavut), and the North is a heavy user of Amazon because even with the shipping, it's far cheaper than going to the Northern Store. That facility will likely also be serving Northern Ontario, which is a fairly heavy user of Amazon Prime compared to the rest of the country. I know a lot of people who have Prime accounts, but only a few people with Costco memberships.

[MolsonExport]

Great catch for Ottawa. Isn't Costco Canada also based in Ottawa?

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Based on the article you linked to, the outlined area in that image is only the "core area" of just under 5000km2. So the area that's "larger than Belgium" is mostly mountains.

I thought it looked wrong. Someone needs to change the information on the wikipedia site. It says the area of the Lower Mainland is 36,303.31 km2 with this map below depicted. It says core which suggests the area outlined in orange. It makes it look like the larger area is that core part + those bits with the orange dotted lines.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Mainland

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Great catch for Ottawa. Isn't Costco Canada also based in Ottawa?

Yes, it is.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

A lot of us over in the Ottawa forum are a little dumbstruck by how big that facility is.. bigger even than the GTA distribution centre. We've concluded it's likely going to be supplying Quebec and possibly Atlantic Canada as well as the Ottawa region.

No. The GTA has multiple distribution centres. The combined footage is over 2 million square feet.

[libtard]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/12/amaz...iness-tax.html

Amazon balked and Seattle is backing down.

City leaders said they plan to repeal a tax on large companies such as Amazon and Starbucks as they face mounting pressure from businesses, an about-face just a month after unanimously approving the measure to help pay for efforts to combat a growing homelessness crisis.

The quick surrender showed the power of Amazon to help rally opposition and aggressively push back on taxes at all levels of government, even in its affluent home city where the income gap is ever widening and lower-income workers are being priced out of housing. It has resulted in one of the highest homelessness rates in the U.S.

Amazon and other businesses had sharply criticized the tax, and the online retailer even temporarily halted construction planning on a new high-rise building near its Seattle headquarters in protest.

...

[megadude]

Why are all four GTA warehouses in the west? I found that surprising. Thought they'd put one in Durham by now to serve the east end and points in between GTA and Ottawa. I'm also curious how far the Ottawa centre's reach will be in Ontario.

Amazon to build fourth GTA fulfillment centre in Caledon
Don Wilcox | Property Biz Canada | 2018-07-25

It’s not the HQ2 news the business world is waiting for, but e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN-Q) will build a fourth fulfillment centre in the Greater Toronto Area, a million-square-foot facility in the Town of Caledon, north of the city.

The company says the new facility will create more than 800 full-time jobs. It will join Amazon’s network of existing Ontario buildings in Brampton, Mississauga and Milton and a recently announced million-square-foot facility in Ottawa.

This will be Amazon’s sixth fulfillment centre in Ontario, where it currently employs more than 2,000 full-time workers. It will be the innovative online retailer’s ninth such facility in Canada.

“We continue to be excited about our growth in Ontario and the opportunity to better serve our customers in the region,” said Glenn Sommerville, director of Amazon operations in Canada, in a release Wednesday morning.

“We’re seeing an incredible workforce and community support in Greater Toronto. It makes us proud to add a new fulfillment centre to better meet customer demand while creating more than 800 full-time jobs with great pay and benefits to support the local economy.”

[osmo]

Originally Posted by megadude

Why are all four GTA warehouses in the west? I found that surprising. Thought they'd put one in Durham by now to serve the east end and points in between GTA and Ottawa. I'm also curious how far the Ottawa centre's reach will be in Ontario.

My guess, likely to be as close to Pearson Airport as possible.

[WhipperSnapper]

This would be number 5 plus Ottawa makes the 6 in Ontario. Poor reporting. Brampton has 2.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Yes, it is.

Interesting..I have lived here for almost 20 years, and I did not know that.
I've always known that Giant Tiger was HQ'ed here, along with some tech companies, but was I was never aware about Costco Canada..Anyways, the Amazon distribution centre announcement is great news. Any diversification is good.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Looks like they have made a decision

Amazon is in “advanced discussions” about placing its second headquarters in Northern Virginia, seemingly dealing a blow to Toronto’s hopes of luring the online retailer here.

According to a report in the Washington Post, the Seattle-based company has held “advanced discussions” with local officials about the possibility of locating the development in Crystal City, which is located immediately south of downtown Washington.

[The Macallan]

Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot

Looks like they have made a decision

Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, is also the owner of the Washington Post, which is the origin of the story. I would guess that makes the story more believable

[isaidso]

If Amazon isn't coming here, what's the closest Canada has to an Amazon? For that matter, what is our Uber, Facebook, Google.... ? Studies suggest that Canada produces large quantities of top notch tech talent so surely they've founded start ups similar or are in the process of doing so.

At the end of the day Canada will be rated by it's the ability to spawn global tech companies. We have Shopify and then .......

[osmo]

The fact that Bezos has a personal home in the DC area is not a suprise of the choice (CEOs and founders will routinely pick a location of tan HQ near to where they live). Also, the fact so many DC metro locations made the short list as well. This process was rigged from the start to give Amazon amazing press and attempt to find that sweetheart deal that eventually never materialized.

Bezos wants to be front and centre with the continued attempts to lobby Washington to give Amazon more access and control.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by isaidso

If Amazon isn't coming here, what's the closest Canada has to an Amazon? For that matter, what is our Uber, Facebook, Google.... ? Studies suggest that Canada produces large quantities of top notch tech talent so surely they've founded start ups similar or are in the process of doing so.

At the end of the day Canada will be rated by it's the ability to spawn global tech companies. We have Shopify and then .......

Hootsuite is all I can think of.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Hootsuite is all I can think of.

Yes the list is very short. Perhaps Canada will eventually get companies in social media, ride sharing, e-commerce, electric vehicles, search engines, internet media provider, etc. It's 2018. You'd think we'd have 2-3 of these by now.

[Chadillaccc]

Some more pertinent information about Amazon in Canada from a couple days ago...

Amazon hosts hiring events for seasonal workers for Balzac warehouse

Amazon is looking to hire hundreds of seasonal workers at its customer fulfillment centre in Balzac to work during the winter holidays.

The company is hosting hiring fairs all week to find people to work a variety of shifts at the warehouse near CrossIron Mills.

Amazon says people who are interested in a job should submit their applications online first and then visit one of the hiring events, to possibly receive an offer on the spot.

Full story: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/amazon-ho...ouse-1.4155577



The facility is right next to one of the largest malls in the province, Cross Iron Mills, in the fast-expanding retail district in Rocky View County known as Balzac. It is directly adjacent to the northern border of the City of Calgary. The facility will employ around 1000 full-time workers when it opens in a couple months.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Hootsuite is all I can think of.

Hootsuite uses Amazon's infrastructure hosting services. Amazon is maybe 500x or 1000x more valuable and important than Hootsuite. It is like comparing a small company that makes aftermarket car add-ons to General Motors.

Generally speaking the best software job opportunities in Canada are at branch offices of American companies. There are some successful startups, sure, but working at a startup as a programmer is closer to a lottery ticket or sketchy get rich quick scheme than a good career strategy. The vast majority of people are better off working at established major companies if they can, and the best ones are all American. Most of the best talent in Canada moves to the US and earns wages much higher than what they would get in Canada. It's not an situation that will tend to create large and successful Canadian companies.

I don't see this changing anytime soon while funding sources in Canada are so much more limited and while everything happens more slowly here. It's not possible for a Canadian Uber to develop for example without regulatory protection given the economic situation in Canada.

The good news I guess is that most people have a hugely exaggerated sense of the technological importance of these companies. The fact that they are so lucrative says more about the structure of the US economy than about how novel and critical their technology is.

[Nouvellecosse]

Is it all just a lack of venture capital? Or are there other factors?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Is it all just a lack of venture capital? Or are there other factors?

I wouldn't claim to know what all the factors are but it is true that the investment environment is not as good. If you try to raise money to fund the same company in Canada vs. the US you will probably get a much higher valuation (i.e. investors take a lower % of your company) and more offers for more money in the US.

I'm not sure how important the difference in expertise is. VC firms like to flatter themselves and believe that a huge amount of the value they provide is in their expert advice and not just in the cash they fork over. But I think there is a difference between raising money from somebody who worked for a roughly similar company 20 years earlier than you vs. raising money from some random source.

I think the talent drain is hugely significant. The only "saving grace" lately is that the Bay Area, where most of the high salaries are, has become expensive and has somewhat higher crime and worse transportation options than most Canadian cities. People have started treating it like they treat work camps in northern Alberta but in past decades it had a great standard of living.