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Amazon has canceled plans to build one of the sites of its second headquarters in New York City, reports The New York Times.
After being granted nearly $3 billion in financial incentives, the online giant faced stiff criticism from some politicians and labor unions, the Times reports.
In November, Amazon selected Long Island City, New York, and Arlington, Virginia, as dual homes to its second headquarters, referred to as HQ2. The announcement capped more than a year of intense competition to land HQ2, which the company said would bring a $5 billion construction investment and 50,000 jobs to the region it selected.
“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. … While polls show that 70 percent 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 states in a press release.
The company confirmed it does not plan to reopen the search for a second HQ2 location and will instead move forward with plans to build HQ2 in Arlington and also construct a center of excellence in Nashville, Tennessee.
For analysis of Amazon’s origin, its year of milestones in 2018 and what’s next for the online retailer, be sure to check out the March 2019 edition of Hardware Retailing. Subscribe here to get the digital edition of Hardware Retailing in your inbox before the print edition hits your mailbox.
