Amazon said Tuesday that it will split its second headquarters between two cities: Arlington, Virginia, and Long Island City in Queens, New York.
When Amazon launched its headquarters search more than a year ago, the company promised a $5 billion investment and 50,000 new jobs to the winning city.
Now, those jobs will be split evenly among Virginia and New York.
The split, news of which had previously leaked, came as a shock to many who had been following the highly publicized contest for Amazon's new headquarters.
Amazon explained its decision to halve its headquarters on Tuesday, saying it was driven by access to talent.
"We can recruit more top talent by being in two locations," the company said in a news release. "These are fantastic cities that attract a lot of great talent."
Read more about Amazon's HQ2:
- Amazon officially announces its HQ2 will be split between New York and Virginia
- Amazon gained a huge perk from its HQ2 contest that's worth far more than any tax break
- Arlington, Virginia, lured in Amazon with promises of a helipad and a cash grant of up to $550 million
- We walked around Long Island City, the New York neighborhood where Amazon is planning to bring HQ2, and saw why it'd be appealing to the e-commerce giant
