Amazon HQ2: Jeff Bezos shamed by tech leaders for lack of transparency

Amazon CEO Jeff BezosDrew Angerer/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos is losing face in the tech community, if the reaction from fellow industry leaders on Twitter to Amazon’s HQ2 decision-making process is any indication.

The 14-month long process of Amazon selecting a location for its new headquarters came to an end on Tuesday, when the tech giant said its highly anticipated HQ2 would be split between two cities: Queens, New York and Arlington, Virginia.

The investment that Amazon promised for the chosen HQ2 home — $2.5 billion and 25,000 jobs — will be split between the two cities. But in return, as part of their platform to woo Amazon to select them, the cities are giving the tech giant billions of dollars in tax breaks and cash grants. This deal has sparked outrage from city residents and local politicians, including newly elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Senator Michael Gianaris, a Queens lawmaker who called the funds a “ransom” that New York was paying.

Read more:  New York City has lured Amazon with more than $1.5 billion in incentives — here’s what else they agreed to

But it’s not just the public that’s been vocal in speaking out against Amazon. Playmakers in the tech industry have taken to social media to slam Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for the large amounts of money cities are handing over in exchange for HQ2, as well as for a lack of transparency in the decision making itself.

In a series of emotional tweets, developer David Heinemeier Hansson (of Ruby on Rails fame) called out Bezos, who holds the title of richest man in the world, for extracting “blatant loot” from cities in a move of “total domination.” Hansson, who is also the founder of the web development firm Basecamp, questioned Bezos’ role as a stakeholder in his company.

But Hansson wasn’t the only one on the tech community to slam Bezos. Take a look at some of the other tech leaders who took to Twitter to express their frustration with Amazon:

Read more about Amazon’s HQ2 project: