Amazon is going to establish itself well in New York City. The soap opera linking the American e-commerce giant to the Big Apple was punctuated by yet another twist with the announcement of the opening of offices on December 8 in Manhattan. These premises, which cover an area of 30,000 m2, and which will house around 1,500 employees of the client and advertising teams, will be located far from the project initially planned in Queens, on the other side of the East River, and abandoned there. a little less than a year ago. They should be inaugurated in 2021.
Tax advantages against job creation
In 2018, Amazon launched a call for applications to American cities, with the goal of establishing its second headquarters there. After 14 months spent searching for the perfect site, the American e-merchant had set his sights on Long Island City, a district of the borough of Queens, New York City, and Crystal City, a district of Arlington, in the State of Virginia. At stake for the two cities, some $ 5 billion to be shared, and 50,000 jobs that the company was committed to creating in 20 years. In return, Amazon was to receive nearly $ 1.525 billion in tax breaks and grants from New York City and $ 573 million in aid from the state of Virginia.
Amazon had nevertheless had to give up its New York project. Last February, in a message posted on its blog, the company announced his decision to throw in the towel in the face of criticism from municipal officials of the Democratic Party, as well as labor and association movements, which precisely criticized him for this very advantageous tax regime and, as a consequence of his arrival, real estate speculations pushing modest households out of New York City. The plans for Crystal City and Nashville, Tennessee, were maintained.
New York, a choice long overdue
The choice of Manhattan undermines Amazon’s rhetoric in its search for the ideal American city. Jeff Bezos’ firm, which has always made people believe that American cities would compete on an equal footing for the HQ2 project, has obviously chosen the Big Apple, where it already has 3,500 employees, for several years. The decision to set up in New York City despite the controversies and without, this time, the tax benefits, testifies to this.
According to the Financial Times, the company wanted to get closer to the fashion, banking and advertising sectors, in which it intends to develop its activities. And it was in New York that it inaugurated, in September 2018, its new concept store called Amazon 4-Star and offering only the most popular products on its e-commerce site.
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