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NYS taxpayers footing $48K cost per job for Amazon HQ2

New York State is kicking in more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives for getting a major Amazon headquarters in Queens.

The company made its long-awaited announcement Tuesday, saying it will hire at least 25,000 workers at a new campus in the city.

Amazon will also receive incentives from New York City. No dollar figure has been attached yet.

New York State's incentives are nearly triple those of Virginia's, while Tennessee's are $102 million - the two other regions to win Amazon approval.

Amazon says the cost per job for New York taxpayers is $48,000, compared to $22,000 for Virginia and $13,000 for Tennessee.

Cuomo called the agreement "one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history."

Buffalo and Rochester had submitted a joint proposal to secure the tech giant's HQ2. The offer to Amazon included around $500 million in known local incentives and even more in additional state incentives.

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