'Winnipeg isn't ready' to lure Amazon HQ2, local IT developer says

The thought of Amazon locating its headquarters in Winnipeg is exciting, but the city has too many challenges to overcome before becoming an attractive option, a local IT developer says.

Software developer Alexander Trauzzi works at a Winnipeg startup and said he is one of the people that Amazon would theoretically be looking to hire. 

"My immediate reaction is that it would sure be nice if that actually were to happen, but I think it's a little bit short-sighted to think that Amazon would consider Winnipeg," said Trauzzi.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman and Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said in separate news releases Saturday they plan to put together a proposal for Amazon to locate its second headquarters — nicknamed HQ2 — in the city.

The online retail behemoth sent out a request for proposals to locate HQ2 in a North American city, which could see more than 50,000 six-figure-salary jobs created in the city with the winning proposal.

The two Brians call their proposal a "Team Manitoba" targeted push. 

The  premier was not immediately available to discuss details.

The mayor said Monday he does not know who will be on the team and says he hopes to employ it in the future, with other companies.

"The question of 'What does Amazon need' is exactly what this team will have to be able to answer," Bowman told reporters outside his office.

"Winnipeg is a city that can compete against other cities. Whether or not we'll be successful on different bids depends on each bid."

The request for proposals outlines numerous considerations, including environmental sustainability, quality of life, significant warehouse space, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, a metro population of 1 million, traffic congestion and more. 

Winnipeg has low hydro rates, a lower cost of living, a geographic advantage, a welcoming culture and a slower pace of life — all attractive things that Amazon is likely to consider, said Trauzzi. But these don't outweigh the biggest problem: the talent pool. 

"The talent pool, I don't think is as mature as somewhere like Toronto, where they have just been able to benefit from the number of people there," he said. "They have a lot of developers coming through the city. It may not be that those developers will work for Amazon. It may be some will and some will move on, but there's that constant churn going on.

"Winnipeg has lost more developers historically than we've kept at the calibre that Amazon is looking for."

Meanwhile, you can point to any number of factors inside that RFP, that Amazon is basically saying Winnipeg isn't ready- Aledander Trauzzi

Technical schools in the city also aren't adequately preparing their graduates for real-life work at top-tier companies, he added. 

"I talk to people at different companies regularly and I hear stories as a developer and everywhere is kind of clawing for senior talent. We do have a lot of graduates from our schools, but even then, those schools, when you compare what they're teaching … it's not going to compare to the universities in Ontario, B.C. or more so, the U.S."

Amazon's RFP also mentions things such as local schooling, tech culture and rapid transit. 

"They talk about things like, 'What kind of programs do you have for K-12 education? What kind of technology culture and environment is in your city already?' We've given away our public infrastructure through the sale of MTS to Allstream and then eventually given it to Bell."

The salaries offered would also make it harder for startups and other small businesses to compete for talent, Trauzzi said. 

Natural advantages

Those are all things that must be dealt with, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard said, but that doesn't mean Winnipeg should count itself out.

"This is an exciting opportunity," he said. "The numbers that Amazon have provided in terms of what their levels of investment and employment creation would be, it's just numbers that as a community, you can't turn away from. It's a significant opportunity.

"The one caveat I'd put around it is we need to make sure we lead with our natural advantages as opposed to taxpayer-incentive-laden proposals.… The evidence does show historically, these types of proposals, where you're heavily providing incentives from taxpayers' money, tend not to really generate the significant benefits that the initial excitement would seem to suggest."

Remillard said low unemployment, an educated, multilingual workforce, Centreport (Winnipeg's large inland port) and the low cost of doing business are advantages the city can leverage in the proposal. 

He acknowledged the lack of an existing talent pool and trying to find 50,000 workers over the next several years would be a challenge, but called it a good challenge to have, and Amazon would be a draw for high-skilled workers from around the world. 

"You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don't take," Bowman added.

Canada's larger cities simply have a better chance, Trauzzi said, with Toronto and Vancouver likely to be looked at more closely — Toronto for its wealth of labour, and Vancouver for its geographic location near Amazon's current headquarters in Seattle. 

"For Toronto and Vancouver, I think there's some sort of glimmer of a hope."

Proposals must be in to Amazon by Oct. 19.