LA is vying for Amazon’s new $5B campus

Los Angeles is knocking on Amazon’s door hoping to deliver the e-commerce giant a brand new headquarters.

Amazon announced plans to spend up to $5 billion to construct and operate a second headquarters that would hold 50,000 employees, and L.A. plans to be a candidate.

“I can confirm we are planning to bid,” Alex Comisar, spokesperson for Mayor Eric Garcetti, told the Los Angeles Times.

The company is already taking proposals for the project from states and municipalities looking to add jobs.

 “We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told the Wall Street Journal reported.

The retailer said it plans to build in a major metropolitan area, within 45 minutes of an airport, near quality universities and in locations with a population of over 1 million people. In the U.S., there are about 80 areas that fit the description, according to the Journal. Amazon is looking to target engineers and others in the tech sector.

The company employs about 200,000 people in the U.S., with about 130,000 people working in its warehouses.

Amazon already has a strong presence in and around the L.A. area. 

The company has five fulfillment centers located in the Inland Empire, and announced plans this year to build two new centers near Riverside, according to the L.A. Times. Amazon Studios, the retailer’s film and television arm, is also based in Santa Monica, and reportedly signed a lease at Culver Studios.