During a highly publicised worldwide hunt for a second headquarters in 2017, the business chose the Arlington premises. The plan was slammed by critics as a ruse to launch a bidding war over who could provide the mega-corporation the best taxpayer-funded incentives. Amazon originally planned to split its operations between Queens, New York, and Northern Virginia, but withdrew from Queens after facing opposition from local politicians and officials, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who were concerned about the nearly $3 billion in financial kickbacks the company was set to receive. Almost ten months after abandoning its New York ambitions, Amazon stated that it will still develop new headquarters in Manhattan’s West Side neighbourhood of Hudson Yards.
