Amazon is continuing to expand its logistics operations in the USA with plans for three new warehouses in North Haven (Connecticut), Thornton (Colorado) and in Utah, investing several hundred million dollars and creating thousands of new jobs and work for robots at the sites.
In North Haven, Connecticut, the e-commerce giant will open a 855,000-square-foot fulfillment centre, with an investment of $255 million, creating over 1,500 full-time jobs with benefits, and, as the firm commented “opportunities for employees to engage with advanced robotics”.
“Five years after announcing our first fulfillment center in Connecticut, we’re excited to open a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in North Haven, creating 1,500 full-time jobs that offer wages 30% higher than traditional retail roles and include comprehensive benefits on day one, bonuses and stock awards,” Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s Vice President of North America Operations, said.
Amazon employees at the North Haven fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship customer items such as electronics, books and toys. The facility will feature innovative technology such as Amazon Robotics that will assist employees in fulfilling customer orders.
The construction of the fulfillment center, which will make widespread use of the latest in warehousing robotics, is expected to start within a week and to take between 12 and 18 months, according to North Haven First Selectman Michael Freda.
“We are very pleased to be able to announce that Amazon is now part of our North Haven community. This has been a very important economic development initiative that has been worked on for almost 2 years and is an important economic development success for the Town of North Haven, the greater New Haven region and our state of Connecticut.”
In Colorado, Amazon plans to open its second fulfillment center in Thornton, which will be the first Amazon Robotics facility in the Centennial State, with more than 1,500 new full time jobs to be created at the site. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
“We are excited to continue growing in Colorado with the new Amazon Robotics fulfillment center in Thornton,” Chauhan said. “This facility will utilise Amazon Robotics, vision systems, and more than 20 years’ worth of software and mechanical innovations. We are grateful for the support we have received from state and local leaders who have helped make this project possible.”
Amazon employees will work alongside innovative technologies at the 855,000-plus square-foot fulfillment center picking, packing, and shipping smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and toys.
Thirdly, Amazon will open a facility in Utah with the help of a $5.6 million state tax incentive. The facility will be located in Salt Lake City. It is expected to create at least 130 jobs in the next eight years and involve a capital investment of $200 million. Company officials say the 130 jobs will pay 110% of the average wage in the county where the plant is built.
