Amazon has 10 to 12 years to hire 50,000 new employees in its HQ2s

The NYC public transit system is already
crammed.
Mark
Lennihan/AP

• Many residents of Long Island City and
  Arlington aren’t happy that
  Amazon will be opening its
  HQ2s in their neighborhoods.
• It’s important to note that the HQ2s won’t be built
  overnight, and changes will come gradually.
• Hiring will be complete in Arlington by 2030 and by 2028 in
  New York City. 

Since Amazon confirmed on Tuesday
that it will be opening its HQ2s in New York City and Arlington, many
residents are, to put it lightly,
freaking out.

And with good reason. HQ2 is going to strain New York City’s
already-decaying
subway system. The influx of six-figure labor will likely

boost rents in Queens, where about a fifth of
households are
in poverty and housing affordability is already a
struggle. In
Arlington, residents said schools are overcrowded, traffic is
a challenge, and housing is pricey — HQ2 is likely to augment
those issues. 

Compounding those frustrations are the tax breaks Amazon
will receive for adding those jobs. Amazon will get a $550
million cash grant
for its Arlington office and $1.5 billion
from New York. Both cities will also assist Amazon in

building a helipad for Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and the
richest man on earth. 

Folks are concerned that
the essential character of their neighborhoods will be
forever altered. As columnist Danny Westneat
wrote in The Seattle Times, “Amazon is about to detonate a
prosperity bomb in your town.”

Read more: Nashville
will become a critical hub for Amazon’s logistics business — but
it doesn’t mean there will also be a boom in warehouse
jobs 

But missing from this panic is an important note — the
neighborhoods won’t be changing overnight.

According to the agreements Amazon has with
New York and
Virginia, the company will have years to hire all 25,000
folks to the respective headquarters. The New York office will be
staffed up by 2028, while Arlington will reach 25,000 by 2030.

Andy Kiersz/Business Insider

The hiring will be gradual, as well. Next year will
bring only 400 hires to Arlington and 700 to Long Island
City, according to the proposals.

Throughout the next 10 to 12 years, on average, the New York
office will hire 2,500 employees per year and the Arlington
office will hire around 2,100 per year. 

Andy Kiersz/Business Insider

There also may be way more than 25,000 folks joining Amazon in
each city. The proposals say there is potential for hiring to go
on for the next 16 years in both cities. (That’s called “Phase
Two” in Virginia.)

By 2033, Amazon may have a total of 40,000 workers in Long Island
City and nearly 38,000 in Arlington by 2034.