13 WHAM - "A joint bid by the Buffalo-Rochester region failed to make the top 20 list of cities for Amazon's second headquarters.
The Buffalo-Rochester Metro Corridor was submitted back in October. The top 20 list of finalists was announced Thursday.
"Amazon issued a request for proposals (RFP) for potential site locations for the company’s second corporate headquarters (HQ2). The company said it could hire as many as 50,000 new full-time employees; the average wage for workers would be roughly $100,000 over the next 10-15 years.
The top 20 list includes mostly large American cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City.
The full list and release can be seen here.
Mark Hurlbutt, President and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, and Tom Kucharski, President and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, were the two community leaders who spearheaded the effort. In a joint statement issued Thursday morning, they called the news "disappointing," but said they remain proud of the collaboration they put together.
"Overall, this joint effort yielded much information regarding how our two communities can work together to promote our region to future suitors and top-tier talent throughout the world," Hurlbutt and Kucharski said in the statement."