NEW YORK – President Donald Trump has described Amazon’s decision of not establishing its second headquarters in New York as a “big loss” for the US financial capital.
Abandoning the plans means thousands of jobs have been missed by the locals.
New York was one of two locations the e-commerce retail giant selected in 2018 after a long search for a second base, or “HQ2.”
Media reports indicate that Amazon had promised the expansive complex would create 25,000 jobs in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state and city incentives.
But it withdrew the plans last week, blaming opposition from community leaders angry at the huge subsidies being offered to one of the world’s most successful companies.
On Friday, February 22, Trump, also a real estate magnate in New York, said: “I think it’s a big loss.”
“I think if you look at the deal, the deal was not a great deal from the standpoint …but still it’s a loss to New York City.”
This Trump comment has marked a rare concession from the president, who has been a vocal critic of Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos.
Amazon is the largest e-commerce marketplace and cloud computing platform in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization.
