On Thursday, February 14, Amazon announced that it is withdrawing from a $3 billion deal that would have led to the company’s newest HQ2 headquarters to be built in Queens, New York City. The project was expected to create up to 25,000 high-paying jobs to the city and was supported by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The decision to pull out of the deal comes after multiple local politicians publicly opposed the deal and were unhappy with the city and state coming up with $3 billion in subsidiaries, according to the New York Post.
Amazon announced the news in a lengthy statement.
“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,” the company stated.
“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.”
Amazon also announced that it would not be searching for a new site for HQ2, instead focusing on their current plans in Northern Virginia and Nashville.
“We do not intend to re-open the HQ2 search at this time. We will proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, and we will continue to hire and grow across our 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the US and Canada,” the company added.
The project would have led to an economic boost in the community, but now that plans have fallen through Cuomo and de Blasio will have to go back to the drawing board. Part of the deal included Amazon providing workplace training, however, that will no longer be the case.
