Amazon slams Crystal City for HQ2 leak

Amazon would have had advanced discussions about opening its second headquarters in Crystal City, Virginia – and the e-commerce giant is not happy about this information being leaked to the press.

according to The Washington PostSources said Crystal City was so confident that JBG Smith, the city's top real estate developer, had removed some of its properties from the rental market, and local officials were preparing a public announcement after the mid-term elections. .

"There are a lot of activities," said one source, adding that "people seem really positive and quite confident. . . . What we do not know is maybe two or three other sites doing the same thing. That's what scares people here.

And while Amazon does not reveal anything about its final decision, one executive expressed frustration with the press about leaks. Mike Grella, director of economic development for Amazon, posted on Twitter: "A memo to the genie revealing information about Crystal City, VA, as a selection # HQ2. You do not do favors in Crystal City, VA. And stop processing the NDA that you signed up as a used napkin, "he said of the confidentiality agreements that Amazon was to be signed by the finalists, according to Geek Wire.

He also criticized The Washington Post for a separate story linking the flight history of private jet CEO Jeff Bezos to Amazon HQ2 research: "Experts say the Bezos jet could reveal the winner of # HQ2 … the finalists are apparently Davos (WEF) Sun Valley (Allen & Co.), Rome (vacation) and Hollywood (Oscars). Google, FaceBook and Tesla move their headquarters to Black Rock Desert, NV #BurningMan. "

Friday, November 2, Bezos (who also owns the To post) says that he will look at all the data when choosing Amazon's second seat, but that goes back to "go with his heart."

"Ultimately, the decision will be made with intuition after collecting and studying a lot of data – for a decision of this type, as far as I know, the best way to do this is to collect as much data as possible, in which you immerse yourself in this data, but then you make the decision with your heart, "he said.