AMAZON SCRAPS NY HEADQUARTERS PLAN
BOWS TO OPPOSITION FROM RESIDENTS, SOME POLITICIANS
Amazon.com Inc. said it’s axing plans to build a new corporate campus in New York City, bowing to fierce opposition from some residents and politicians and denying the city what the mayor and governor had called its biggest ever economic win.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lobbied hard to bring the deal to the city, with the governor even jokingly offering to change his name. They touted the promise of as many 40,000 jobs in the city over the next two decades with an average salary of $150,000.
But local opposition was fervent from the beginning. Lawmakers resented being excluded from negotiations for the deal, and decried the $3 billion in government subsidies offered to a company run by the world’s richest man, while the city itself is facing budget cuts. Community groups feared rising rents in the neighbourhood would push out long-time residents, and that the influx of workers would strain an already overburdened subway system.
“Amazon’s decision to withdraw from New York is no doubt a blow to our local economy,” said Julie Samuels, executive director at tech: NYC. “New York City is today one of the most dynamic tech hubs in the world, but there is no guarantee we will maintain this status in the future, which makes this news so disappointing.”
In a series of City Council meetings in recent weeks, Amazon executives were grilled about their view on unions, specifics about jobs in the neighbourhood and the fact that their chosen site is located in an opportunity zone, enabling it to qualify for federal and state tax breaks there. Amazon said it wouldn’t claim the break. One executive hinted at the exasperation within the company, saying Amazon wanted to be in a community that wanted it.
And there are plenty of others that do. But instead of reopening what was a year-long search for a second headquarters, Amazon said it will proceed with plans for other major offices at a site in Northern Virginia and Nashville. ‘We will continue to hire and grow across our 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the US and Canada,’ it added, in a statement. Besides the public backlash in New York City, tension was building at Amazon headquarters in Seattle.
High-level executives with several Amazon teams were notified within the past few weeks that they would have to relocate to New York, which caused unrest, according to two people familiar with the matter. Several executives who were told they’d have to leave began job hunting to avoid relocating their families, said the people, who requested anonymity since they were not authorized to share the details.