LA loses bid for Amazon HQ2 and thousands of possible jobs, but some experts are relieved

FILE- In this Oct. 23, 2018, file photo an Amazon logo is seen on the side of an Amazon Treasure Truck in Los Angeles. Amazon on Tuesday, Nov. 13, said it will split its much-anticipated second headquarters between New York and Arlington, Va. In addition, the online retailer said it will open an operations hub in Nashville, creating 5,000 jobs. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

When Amazon launched its HQ2 contest last fall, dangling a prize of 50,000 high-paying jobs and a US$5bil (RM20.97bil) investment, 238 North American cities and regions embarked on a mad scramble, providing proprietary data and offering hefty tax breaks to host the company's second headquarters. 

Among the California supplicants including San Diego, Irvine and San Francisco, Los Angeles alone made the cut of 20 finalists, the lone survivor west of the Rockies.