Amazon said Thursday it is canceling its plans to build a new major campus in New York City.
Following a yearlong public search for a new second headquarters, dubbed HQ2, Amazon in November announced plans to build two 25,000-employee campuses, one in Long Island City, in New York’s Queens borough, and another in Arlington, Virginia. Both locations were selected from over 200 bidders and were expected to receive $2.5 billion in investments from the e-commerce giant. Amazon also selected Nashville to host a new 5,000-person “center of excellence.”
The New York City campus received quick and persistent criticism from local union supporters, the New York City Council and a number of elected officials. Amazon cited that opposition from state and local politicians as a critical reason for canceling the project, saying it required “positive, collaborative relationships” to undertake a large project that would be built over a decade.
“We do not intend to reopen the HQ2 search at this time,” Amazon said Thursday. “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.” Amazon declined to comment beyond its statement.
The company employs over 5,000 people in New York City and said it plans to continue growing those teams.
Editorial credit: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com