Back in November, Amazon confirmed its plans to build new headquarters in Long Island City, New York, a part of New York City in Queens county. While the new location was expected to bring 25,000 new jobs to the area, the firm announced today that it"s canceling its plans.
Just as was rumored last week, Amazon says that it was dealing with too much pushback from local politicians. While New York State Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayer de Blasio were enthusiastic about the effort, "a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose" Amazon"s project, and the firm says that it can"t continue on without cooperation that "will be supportive over the long-term."
The New York Times tells a somewhat different story than the one Amazon did in its official announcement. According to that report, Amazon has a meeting with union leaders and the company simply refused to compromise. State Senator Michael Gianaris said to the Times, "Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves. The only thing that happened here is that a community that was going to be profoundly affected by their presence started asking questions."
Amazon said that it still has over 5,000 employees in NYC, and it will continue to grow those efforts. The firm isn"t going to start looking for another location to replace Long Island City, and it will continue its plans in Nashville and Northern Virginia. The Amazon Long Island City location was expected to create 25,000 jobs.