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Thread: Amazon

  1. #176

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by dcsooner View Post
    Oklahoma does not have the leadership on any level to pull something like this off. They never try for automobile, R&D or anything else. 2-300 jobs is a big deal to them and a major headquarters out of the question. You expect too much from the leadership in the State.
    Now aren't you a ray of sunshine. lol

    Hey, back in the day we scored GM. This past year or so we scored a General Electric Global Research Center (one of 8 in the world), lots of O&G and what is very overlooked is Boeing at TAFB, many high paying technical jobs. And I'm sure there are more I'm overlooking.

  2. #177

    Default Re: Amazon

    If for no other reason than optics, the city/state should pursue a bid. Having said that, I think Amazon knows exactly where it's headed. This is the "let's see how many incentives we can get" phase.

  3. #178
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    Default Re: Amazon

    Our lack of commitment to education probably rules us out.

  4. #179

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by Rover View Post
    Our lack of commitment to education probably rules us out.
    But I thought Commitment Runs Deep in OKC? Surely that extends to education for the children!


  5. #180

    Default Re: Amazon

    According to Market Watch these are the cities that best meet Amazon's criteria:



    From this list I would rank Raleigh #1, Denver #2 and Austin #3 (they did just buy Whole Foods..)

  6. #181

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by BG918 View Post
    According to Market Watch these are the cities that best meet Amazon's criteria:



    From this list I would rank Raleigh #1, Denver #2 and Austin #3 (they did just buy Whole Foods..)
    My guess is it will be Austin or Denver. Those seem to be the darling cities these days and for good reason. I'd be surprised if they go to North Carolina.

  7. #182

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by jonny d View Post
    I'm curious to know what future leaders OK has on the rise you would consider able to dream this big...
    I don't know who the people are in Oklahoma who possess a vision of greatness for the State, but I suspect they may not come from within, because so many of the best and brightest leave the State. Oklahoma lacks a significant influx of new residents from other more progressive places that might over a couple of generations lead to more entrepreneurial, creative, risk taking populous. This lack of geographical diversity relegates the State to the overall mindset of native Oklahomans who historically are relatively poor (Per capita) economically, educationally deficient (percentage of college grads) and dependent on Oil and Gas. I have not heard of ONE major manufacturing or knowledge based enterprise looking to relocate or build that Oklahoma has even competed for. Saturn on TN, Mercedes in SC, NC where I live is considered a desirable place. Our legislature is full of criminal and deviant actors. We have an incompetent Governor. Not really sure we could put together a coalition of State leaders capable of competing against the TX's of the world.

  8. #183

    Default Re: Amazon

    Provo Utah? not even close to 1MM people... If that is one of the places that experts consider a front-runner. Then OKC could easily get over humps of airport proximity and mass transit.

    I know it is still a pipe dream, but man it would suck if somewhere like Provo got it.

  9. #184

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by Bellaboo View Post
    Now aren't you a ray of sunshine. lol

    Hey, back in the day we scored GM. This past year or so we scored a General Electric Global Research Center (one of 8 in the world), lots of O&G and what is very overlooked is Boeing at TAFB, many high paying technical jobs. And I'm sure there are more I'm overlooking.
    Please understand those are good jobs (Boeing) driven by Tinker (Government). I am referring more to private sector jobs. Be great to know what the "criteria" are, then we would have an idea where OKC and others fall short.

  10. #185

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by Anonymous. View Post
    Provo Utah? not even close to 1MM people... If that is one of the places that experts consider a front-runner. Then OKC could easily get over humps of airport proximity and mass transit.

    I know it is still a pipe dream, but man it would suck if somewhere like Provo got it.
    Provo is in the Salt Lake City urban region.

    I have my own hunches on why OKC usually gets passed up for corporate relocation consideration but I would be interested to see what the actual criteria is and what OKC is lacking. I would love to see OKC at least in the running more often.

    I want to add that in my opinion, Amazon is a unique beast and its company culture may play a role in terms of where they go.

  11. #186

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by dcsooner View Post
    Please understand those are good jobs (Boeing) driven by Tinker (Government). I am referring more to private sector jobs. Be great to know what the "criteria" are, then we would have an idea where OKC and others fall short.
    I don't understand the contempt for government jobs. The world is growing more and more insecure with each passing year. Tinker has continually avoided the BRAC commission, and it hosts a number of very strategic programs, including public-private partnerships. It and its 25,000+ jobs are not going anywhere. Discounting Tinker just because its jobs are "governmental" makes little sense.

    And sure, the jobs at Tinker pay less than the jobs at Devon and Continental, but they are also arguably more secure on a long-term basis.

  12. #187

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by dcsooner View Post
    Be great to know what the "criteria" are, then we would have an idea where OKC and others fall short.
    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....516043504_.pdf

  13. #188

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by chuck5815 View Post
    I don't understand the contempt for government jobs. The world is growing more and more insecure with each passing year. Tinker has continually avoided the BRAC commission, and it hosts a number of very strategic programs, including public-private partnerships. It and its 25,000+ jobs are not going anywhere. Discounting Tinker just because its jobs are "governmental" makes little sense.

    And sure, the jobs at Tinker pay less than the jobs at Devon and Continental, but they are also arguably more secure on a long-term basis.
    OKC's success with government jobs is VASTLY understated. But that said, it's a completely different animal from the corporate sector. Everything from funding to management to pace is different. I don't see that translating very well for an independent IT giant like Amazon.

    There was another thread discussing the possibility of a big consulting firm like Accenture opening an office here. I think the same negatives apply here. Oklahoma's overall quality of education is well below average. That plus the lack of STEM programs creates a pretty shallow local talent pool.

    Also, Amazon is pretty well known for working their people to the bone, and being on call 24/7. That's pretty common in high priced, high hustle cities like NY or SF. Not sure if that would jive so well here.

  14. #189

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by chuck5815 View Post
    I don't understand the contempt for government jobs. The world is growing more and more insecure with each passing year. Tinker has continually avoided the BRAC commission, and it hosts a number of very strategic programs, including public-private partnerships. It and its 25,000+ jobs are not going anywhere. Discounting Tinker just because its jobs are "governmental" makes little sense.

    And sure, the jobs at Tinker pay less than the jobs at Devon and Continental, but they are also arguably more secure on a long-term basis.
    I retired from the Federal Government in 2014 with 34 yrs of military and civilian service. I certainly was not disparaging government, I am a beneficiary.

  15. #190

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by dcsooner View Post
    Oklahoma does not have the leadership on any level to pull something like this off. They never try for automobile, R&D or anything else. 2-300 jobs is a big deal to them and a major headquarters out of the question. You expect too much from the leadership in the State.
    Heck, I agree with DCSooner for once. Our leadership is so abysmal, they wouldn't know how to pursue this if they were handed a picture instruction manual.

    We've under-invested in education. One of Amazon's main requirements is a workforce that has software development and coding ability. Our education system is barely preparing the workforce to read--and too many people are okay with that. To be competitive for opportunities in the future, there needs to be massive investment in education and a restructuring of the entire system to ensure it's preparing us for the future.

    We have a virtually non-existent mass transit system. Another of Amazon's requirements is access to mass transit. They want their workers to be able to easily travel the city. The streetcar is limited to downtown and expansion to other areas won't happen for a very long time. Embark is a half-assed system and there is no functioning mass transit between the major cities in the metro. If we had leaders with a vision, expanding the streetcar and ensuring Embark is a successfully-run system would be a priority now--for NEXT year, not for 10 years from now.

    None of our state leaders have vision of where this state is going. That is, ultimately, why we won't get the Amazon HQ2. Fortunately, we can change that. Let's hope we do.

  16. #191

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by jonny d View Post
    I'm curious to know what future leaders OK has on the rise you would consider able to dream this big...
    I would say Mick Cornett, Matt Pinnell, Ken Miller, Leslie Osborn, David Holt, Nathaniel Harding, Jason Dunnington...

  17. #192

    Default Re: Amazon

    Quote Originally Posted by king183 View Post
    I would say Mick Cornett, Matt Pinnell, Ken Miller, Leslie Osborn, David Holt, Nathaniel Harding, Jason Dunnington...
    For each one of those guys, there are 20 legislators who think Oklahoma's only problems are Mexicans and gays.

  18. #193

    Default Re: Amazon

    It's really hard to grasp 50,000 employees. If 60% of the okc metro is in the workforce, that's 845,000 people. That means post amazon 6% of the city would work there. Hell I think Chesapeake at its peak was what 7500 people on its campus? This is almost 7 times bigger than that.

    Going deeper if the okc metro unemployment rate is 4%. 4% of 840,000 means 34,000 people are unemployed who want to be employed. and 4% is considered full employment because at any given time 4% are changing jobs, moving etc. The 50k would mostly be coming from somewhere else.

    Those 50,000 coming in would likely bring a spouse or kids with them. The city would grow by 100,000 overnight. The strain on everything that would put is simply unfathomable.

    All politics and self moaning about okc aside, we simply don't have the sheer number of people for this.

    Not that we shouldn't try. We should treat this like we're trying to attract an olympics or something and offer $10 billion in incentives or something insane. Competing is fun but we're likely out of our league here

  19. #194

    Default Re: Amazon

    I get the sense that people don't understand the scale of what Amazon is wanting to build. GE research and Boeing doesnt even come close for comparison. We would have better luck getting some kind of Boeing military division headquarters.

  20. #195

    Default Re: Amazon

    Boeing just moved its defense headquarters to Washington DC. Close to the Pentagon.

  21. #196

    Default Re: Amazon

    I've been monitoring the St. Louis and Kansas City urban forum sites, both of which have pages and pages of discussions on this topic, as you can imagine. I think a comment from someone at the KC site below as a counter-argument to hand-wringing about how KC could never get this project, is constructive for OKC:


    You're right, lets not even try. Bidding on moon shot projects like this teach you nothing about yourself. There is nothing learned from the introspection involved in self-promotion, or the analytics you run in self-evaluation. Always better not to dream because then you will never be disappointed. And if the worst thing is that if you come close to winning, like making a semi-final round, you will never gain the attention of any other possible companies that might not have considered you in the past.

  22. #197

    Default Re: Amazon

    I guess what I mean by posting that is this: of course the odds of OKC winning this site are pretty much nil for several reasons. But by running through the exercise of putting in a proposal and putting our best foot forward, the city will be flexing its muscles a bit...probably learning something about how to compete...and perhaps showing the business world that we belong in the company of those that are making the effort. If OKC were to make it past a first round into a group of 10 or 15, which is probably not out of the realm of possibility, we would garner attention. Anything that puts us even in the league of "big league cities" is worth trying. It doesn't cost anything to try, what, some people's time over the course of a month?

  23. #198

    Default Re: Amazon

    One other thing...a topic of conversation on the STL site is that Amazon seems to like urban areas but also likes the opportunity to build brand-new digs...so there is much back and forth about where in urban St. Louis could there be land assembled that is not currently owned by dozens of different people, or environmentally compromised.

    Can you say "Producers Coop" site? Yes, I know it was recently bought and there's going to be shopping center maybe...blah blah...but really, OKC's city leaders ought to contact the new owner and explore a way to offer that site, ready to go, lock, stock and barrel, can you imagine 5 million square feet of offices built there and connected in with Bricktown and the park...run the canal through the site...seems like it would be right up Jeff Bezos' alley!

  24. #199

    Default Re: Amazon

    I understand what you are saying, and agree with a large amount of it. However, I want to maybe build on it a bit.

    Why are people saying there's no chance OKC will get it? Are they just Debbie Downers, or are there problems that would prevent Amazon from building here (and this goes for KC and St Louis as well)? If they're just being negative, then to Hell with them. Make that proposal and grab for that brass ring.

    But if there are problems that would prevent Amazon from building here (or KC, or St Louis, or anywhere), then use the money you would have spent on the proposal to address those issues. Let's say the problem is lack of fresh water (I'm trying to pick an example that doesn't hit too close to home for any city, sorry Flint Michigan). No way Amazon is going to come to you because of that lack of fresh water. So if you were going to offer Amazon X dollars as an incentive, then do what you should have already done, use that X dollars to clean up the water, and then maybe you'll be in the running for the NEXT brass ring.

    All that said, I don't think people are being Debbie Downers here. There are some really good reasons for Amazon to build in OKC. And there are some really good reasons for them not to build in OKC. Rather than sticking our heads in the clouds and dreaming about Amazon, while at the same time sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring the very real problems, we need to spend the time, money, and energy we would throw at Amazon and address at the very least some of the issues. Had we done this a couple years ago, maybe we could attract Amazon, but we didn't and we can't. So do it now, and maybe when Facebook starts yapping about needing an HQ in the heartland, OKC might be a viable candidate. Make the pros list longer than the cons list. Make it so Facebook (or whatever form the next brass ring takes) would be stupid to not at the very least put OKC on the short list. Make it so whatever Atlanta, or Denver, or whatever other city is on the short list comes up with looks like a joke in comparison to the option of OKC.

    This is obviously a much better option than doing nothing and hoping the cons list for the other cities is somehow longer.

    The funny thing? This has already happened. United Airlines. What did Oklahoma City do after not getting the maintenance center? MAPS. The Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program. This isn't a new concept.

  25. #200

    Default Re: Amazon

    I'm pretty certain that the city literally throws the kitchen sink at any major company that even mentions relocation, regardless of the opinions on OKC Talk.

    However, the reality is that Oklahoma City really does not currently have enough to offer outside of legal tax evasion. We don't have the infrastructure or talent pool to support this massive of an operation. With our leadership's go-to move being giving everything away for free for life, I'd rather take that money and actually invest long term in organic growth and development. They would be better served funding a startup culture like Austin, then going after the Amazons of the world in 5 or 10 years.

    The Olympic analogy is fitting. Everyone thinks they want it, but really it only feasible for top 10 cities and generally lays waste to the rest.

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