Report: Amazon revisits Chicago, New York, Newark, other finalists for its HQ2 city

Amazon reportedly has made additional visits to some of the 20 cities that are finalists for its second headquarters, dubbed “HQ2”, adding fresh speculation to who the eventual winner will be.

The online retailing giant, which narrowed down its list to 20 locations in January, has made fresh visits in recent months to New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Chicago, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter who could not speak publicly.

The report also noted that Amazon has followed up with other potential fits, such as Miami and locations in the Washington, D.C. area.

Some cities, such as Raleigh, North Carolina, haven’t been contacted by Amazon in months, according to the Journal report

These follow-up stops come after Amazon’s search team this spring and summer visited all of the 20 cities on its finalist list.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, now the world’s richest man, said a decision would be made before the end of the year.

Amazon’s unusual public search for a second headquarters, which was announced in September 2017, has been closely watched by the business community.

The stakes are high, as the company has said that it would invest $5 billion and hire as many as 50,000 employees in the winning city. The company, whose current headquarters in Seattle is estimated to have about 40,000 employees, is in search of more space and access to a wide pool of tech talent. Amazon is seeking a location in a metropolitan, or urban, area with good mass transit and short commute times for its workers.

Earlier media reports noted that Amazon also made second visits to Miami and Chicago.