Ocasio-Cortez Cheers Amazon’s Withdrawal as a Victory Over ‘Greed’

(Bloomberg) -- Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheered Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to scrap plans for a corporate campus in New York City because of objections from some residents and politicians.

"Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world," the outspoken progressive, who represents the Bronx and Queens in the U.S. House, wrote Thursday on Twitter following the company’s announcement.

Ocasio-Cortez, elected to the House last November, was among a faction of liberals who objected to the move, criticizing Amazon’s practices and arguing that it shouldn’t get a subsidy to open an office in New York. In recent months, the self-described democratic socialist has unleashed stinging critiques of the company on her Twitter feed, which has more than 3 million followers.

In February, she tweeted that Amazon’s actions suggest it wouldn’t be "a good or healthy neighbor for NYC." In December, she accused the company of "trying to trample democracy" and take shortcuts to get approval for construction of a New York campus.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, also had harsh words for the company.

“.@amazon – one of the wealthiest companies on the planet – just walked away from billions in taxpayer bribes, all because some elected officials in New York aren’t sucking up to them enough. How long will we allow giant corporations to hold our democracy hostage?’’ she wrote on Twitter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sahil Kapur in Washington at skapur39@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum

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