It’s official. Amazon has confirmed plans to expand in Indiana by opening two new buildings in Elkhart County.
The company says it’s all to support operating closer to their customers.
The robotics fulfillment center and delivery station, both set to launch in 2023, are expected to create more than 1,000 new roles in the Hoosier State.
Employees in the new 800,000 square-foot fulfillment center will be used to pick, pack, and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics, and consumer goods.
The new 180,000 square-foot delivery station will help increase efficiency of deliveries, getting customers orders, faster.
County leaders say the new jobs in the distribution technology sector will help diversify the local economy and protect Elkhart County from national economic fluctuations.
Read Amazon’s complete announcement below:
ELKHART, Ind.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon today announced plans to expand its investment in Indiana by opening two new buildings in Elkhart County to support operations closer to customers. The robotics fulfillment center and delivery station, both set to launch in 2023, are expected to create more than 1,000 new roles in the Hoosier State.
“Amazon’s decision to support Elkhart County is a huge vote of confidence in our workforce development initiatives,” said Suzanne Weirick, President Board of Commissioners, Elkhart County, IN. “The new, high paying jobs in the distribution technology sector also help diversify our local economy and protect us from the national economic fluctuations. Since investments by Amazon tend to attract related industries, we look forward to additional interest in Elkhart County by other high-tech companies.”
“We’re thrilled to announce a new state-of-the-art fulfillment center and delivery station in Elkhart County as we continue to invest in the state of Indiana,” said Kyle DeGiulio, Amazon’s regional economic development manager. “Indiana has been a great place to do business, serve customers and drive opportunity; as a result, we’re proud to have created more than 20,000 jobs and invested more than $15 billion in the Hoosier State over the past decade.”
Employees in the new 800,000 square-foot fulfillment center will have the opportunity to work alongside Amazon’s robotics technology. The state-of-the-art building will be used to pick, pack, and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics, and consumer goods.
The new 180,000 square-foot delivery station will power the last mile of Amazon’s order process and help increase efficiency of deliveries for customers. Delivery stations also offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to build their own business delivering Amazon packages. In addition, independent contractors gain the flexibility to be their own boss and create their own schedule delivering for Amazon Flex.
On top of Amazon’s average starting wage of $18 per hour for roles in fulfillment and transportation, the company also provides full-time employees comprehensive benefits from day one. They include health, vision, and dental insurance, 401(k) with 50% company match, up to 20 weeks paid parental leave, and Amazon’s Career Choice program, in which the company will pay full college tuition for its front-line employees as part of $1.2 billion investment to expand education and skills training benefits for its U.S. workforce.
Amazon in Indiana:
- Since 2010, Amazon has created more than 20,000 jobs in Indiana and invested more than $15 billion across the state, including infrastructure and compensation to its employees.
- Amazon’s investments have contributed more than $13 billion in GDP to the Indiana economy and have helped create over 29,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s direct hires—from jobs in construction and logistics to professional services.
- Amazon’s worldwide fulfillment network supports millions of businesses of all sizes worldwide through its Fulfillment by Amazon offering, and many of those local organizations are based in Indiana. There are more than 22,000 authors, small and medium-sized businesses, and developers in Indiana growing their companies and reaching new customers on Amazon products and services.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
8 comments
The big question left out of the announcement is if the taxpayers of this county and state have to subsidize the worlds richest company with incentives to come here. How long will it be before we can expect full property tax payments from Amazon???
Inquiring minds want to know.
Getting a job at the new facility will also require a Covid shot. think about that before you go there.
A simple task
For all the jobs this will create a tax break is well deserved !
Not necessarily. If they get $1,000,000 in tax abatements and create 100 permanent jobs paying $40k annually then it will take 10 years of local taxes at 2.5% just to break even.
Awful negative for not even knowing the truth.
As opposed to being optimistic for no reason, even when the historical evidence supports a pessimistic view?
Slacker06 is correct, Amazon will likely never pay their full property tax bill. That means the rest of us get to cover their portion. Isn’t it great when the government picks winners and losers?
Where are they going to find 1000 workers?
Don’t worry, the vast majority of those are temporary construction jobs. The actual number of people needed to staff two automated buildings 24/7 will be MUCH lower, probably less than 100 full time employees.