Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Amazon has scrapped its plans to build a second headquarters facility in New York City, amid political pushback and protests from members of the community. The online retail giant said it was ditching plans to construct the second half of a two-city HQ2 in Long Island City neighborhood of Queen, after local officials and residents vehemently criticized the plan.
Amazon said it will continue to build its planned headquarters in Virginia and its other planned location in Nashville, TN, adding that it does not intend to reopen the search for a replacement location.
“After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. 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,” Amazon said in a statement.
“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,” the company said.
New York split the HQ2 project with Virginia after a year-long competition among 234 cities. New York and Long Island City came together to offer some $3 billion subsidies to Amazon in exchange for an expected 25,000 new jobs. But a storm of protests led by New York politicians and activists has been growing ever since.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had hailed the deal as an opportunity to provide high-paying tech jobs to thousands of New York residents. However, some lawmakers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opposed the tax subsidies that the state and city governments promised the company.
Last week, The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, reported that the retailer was reconsidering the New York pick. Amazon had projected that the new operation would create 25,000 jobs, with direct economic benefit of $27 billion and an average annual salary of $150,000.
Shares of Amazon ended the regular session on Thursday with a loss of $17.35, or 1.06% to $1,622.65.
Amazon.com Inc. Profile
Amazon.com, Inc. engages in the provision of online retail shopping services. It operates through the following business segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The North America segment includes retail sales of consumer products and subscriptions through North America-focused websites such as www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca.
The International segment offers retail sales of consumer products and subscriptions through internationally-focused websites. The Amazon Web Services segment involves in the global sales of compute, storage, database, and AWS service offerings for start-ups, enterprises, government agencies, and academic institutions. The company was founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos in July 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. – CNN Money
