[tubemonkey]

Amazon drops plan to build headquarters in New York City

Amazon canceled plans to build a campus in New York City with at least 25,000 high-paying jobs on Thursday because of resistance from local elected officials, unions and community activists who said a project initially hailed as an economic triumph was a lousy deal.

“There are a number of folks on the ground who oppose our presence,” Amazon spokeswoman Jodi Seth said. “We don’t think there’s a path forward in terms of working with them over the long term.”

The company issued a statement shortly before noon saying it did not intend to reopen its search for a second headquarters at this time, but would continue with plans to put at least 25,000 jobs in Arlington in Northern Virginia and 5,000 in Nashville.

The decision was a stunning reversal for Amazon, which badly miscalculated how it would be received when it said it would put half of the 50,000 jobs promised in its much-publicized HQ2 search in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.