Amazon.com Inc abruptly scrapped plans for a new headquarters in New York that could have created 25,000 jobs, blaming opposition from local leaders upset by the nearly $3 billion in incentives promised by state and city politicians, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
The company said on Thursday it did not see consistently “positive, collaborative” relationships with state and local officials. Opponents of the project feared congestion and higher rents in Long Island City, Queens, and objected to incentives for a company run by Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man.
Amazon said it would not conduct a new headquarters search and would focus on growing at other existing and planned offices.
The online retailer carried out a highly publicized year-long contest to pick a location for a $5 billion second headquarters, drawing bids from across the United States and Canada. It ultimately split plans to add 50,000 jobs between New York and Arlington, Virginia, near Washington.
The Long Island City deal was negotiated by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who joked he would change his name to Amazon Cuomo if might help lure the company, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. They promised it would more than pay for itself in the long term through new tax revenues.
Cuomo said in a statement on Thursday that a small group of politicians had “put their own narrow political interests” above those of New Yorkers.
“They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity,” he said.
Some New Yorkers had mounted protests after the deal was announced, angered by the $2.8 billion in incentives promised to Amazon and fearing further gentrification in a neighborhood once favored by artists looking for cheap studio space.
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a critic of the project and a self-described democratic socialist whose district spans parts of Queens and the Bronx, cheered the reversal by the world’s third most valuable public company.
“Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world,” she wrote on Twitter.
People briefed on the decision said Amazon had made the decision early on Thursday after talks starting on Wednesday and amid rising concerns about the small vocal minority. The people said Amazon will not shift any of the planned jobs to Tennessee or Virginia but plans to grow its existing network of locations.
The online retailer has not yet acquired any land for the project, which would make it easy to scrap its plans, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.
In a statement, de Blasio blamed Amazon for failing to address local criticism.
“We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world,” he said. “Instead of working with the community, Amazon threw away that opportunity.”
U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat whose district includes the proposed site, lamented the loss of jobs and new revenues.
“This is not the Valentine that NY needed,” she wrote, adding that she had been ready to push for changes to the deal to address local concerns.
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