Amazon Cancels NY Headquarters Plan
Amazon.com scrapped plans to build a headquarters in New York after opposition from local politicians and some residents.
The company had planned to have 700 employees in New York as part of the HQ2 project by the end of the year and did not plan to hit 25,000 in Queens for 10 years.
"For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City," Amazon said.
Amazon said it would proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, and would also continue to hire and grow across its 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the U.S. and Canada.
Amazon's NY plan faced the opposition of some residents of the Queens neighborhood, as well as from politicians from the Democratic Party’s leftward flank.
Rival Alphabet’s Google said in December it plans to invest more than $1 billion on a new campus in New York to double its current headcount of more than 7,000 people.