Amazon officially announced the two locations for their newest headquarters, and Queens made the cut. The company also pledged to spend $5 billion and create 50,000 new, high paying jobs. And according to Amazon, these jobs would pay an average of $100,000 a year.

As students, this is fantastic news. A New York headquarters could be incredibly beneficial to students in the state, like students at Syracuse University, studying tech and business. Because many students call the New York City area home, SU could be a hotspot for Amazon internships.

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Prior to the announcement, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would change his name to “Amazon Cuomo” if the company decided to build its headquarters in New York. This comes after Cuomo had reportedly offered hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for the internet giant to come to the state. Subsidies offered to Amazon will most likely come in the form of tax breaks and tax relief.

Aside from the massive subsidies, Amazon coming to New York could be extremely beneficial for the state. While the nationwide job growth average has been 11 percent over the past eight years, New York’s job growth has been 9.6 percent. A $2.5 billion investment and 25,000 new jobs would act as a catalyst to spur growth throughout the state.

Ray Wimer, a professor of retail in the Whitman School of Management, said while there are still many unanswered questions, there is potential to create purchasing, production, financials and management jobs and internships.

He also noted that before it is possible to measure Amazons exact impact it is important to understand what these new headquarters mean and what New York is going to have to give up.

Ultimately, Amazon’s impact cannot yet be quantified, but one this is for sure — students should be one of the benefactors of this expansion.

Patrick Penfield is a sophomore accounting major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at fpen2021@syr.edu.

Published on November 13, 2018 at 9:25 pm