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:
- See an Amazon Fulfillment Center In Action
- Amazon Job Creation and Investment U.S.
- U.S. Investment Map
About Amazon: Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.