Amazon plans $5 billion second headquarters in N. America

Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it plans to open another headquarters in North America and spend more than $5 billion for its construction and operation.

The e-commerce company, currently based in Seattle, said it was yet to zero in on a location, but expects to expand the new headquarters to include up to 50,000 high-paying jobs.

Amazon said it was seeking proposals from local and state government leaders for the new headquarters.

Apple Inc had reportedly spent about $5 billion on its spaceship-shaped headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Amazon said its new headquarters should ideally be located in a metropolitan area with more than one million people and one that can attract and retain technical talent.

The company`s Seattle headquarters is spread across 8.1 million square feet in 33 buildings and employs more than 40,000 people.

Amazon expects the new headquarters to be a "full equal" to its Seattle office, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)