<P> The announcement came as a surprise in Seattle, where Amazon is actively expanding their South Lake Union campus and has 40,000 workers occupying almost 20 percent of the city's office space . Former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced that he would begin conversations with Amazon about their long - term plans for the city, while the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce characterized the announcement as a "wake - up call" to improve the city's business climate . Comparisons were made to Boeing's decision to move their corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in 2001, which came as a surprise to the city but ultimately only affected a few hundred corporate jobs . </P> <P> Moody's Analytics published an analysis of bidding metropolitan areas and determined that Austin, Texas, ranks highest among Amazon's criteria, followed by Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Rochester, New York . The New York Times also completed an analysis which found Denver to be the best site based on Amazon's criteria, followed closely by Boston and Washington D.C . Irish gambling site Paddy Power originally listed Atlanta as the odds on favorite to win HQ2, with 2 - to - 1 odds but, as of January 2018, lists Atlanta and Austin as sharing 3 - to - 1 odds of winning Amazon HQ2 . </P> <P> Steven Strauss, a visiting professor of public policy at Princeton University and an expert on economic development, in an editorial in USA Today suggested that metropolitan areas should be cautious about bidding too generously to win the Amazon bid . He points to examples where companies have gone bankrupt and / or not followed up on expansion plans and notes that it is possible cities could over pay (the so - called "winner's curse") by providing an overly generous incentive package that turns out to be a money - losing proposition for the municipality if all the promised jobs don't materialize . </P> <P> Conservative and liberal advocacy groups voiced their opposition to various tax breaks promised by cities in hopes of luring Amazon . </P>

When is amazon making a decision on hq2