Last updated on March 25th, 2021 at 07:19 pm
Amazon said June 2 that it will open its first fulfillment center in Fresno, California.
The Seattle-based online retailer said the center will “continue its growth in California’s Central Valley” and create 1,500 new full-time jobs.
The Fresno center will be Amazon’s fifth fulfillment center in the Central Valley, with three operating fulfillment centers located in Tracy and Patterson, and a fourth facility under construction in Sacramento.
Employees at 855,000-s.f. fulfillment center in Fresno will specialize in handling smaller-sized items such as books, electronic devices and children’s toys, the retailer said.
Other Amazon California customer fulfillment facilities are located in San Bernardino, Redlands, Moreno Valley, Rialto, Eastvale and Newark. Additionally, there are more than 460,000 authors, sellers and developers in California growing their businesses and reaching new customers via Amazon products and services, the retailer says.
“We are very excited to expand our network into Fresno and throughout the San Joaquin Valley as a region,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s VP of North American operations. “There are several factors we consider when deciding on where to place a new fulfillment center. Most importantly, we look to see where we can improve Prime benefits with faster shipping speeds for customers and where there is a dedicated workforce that can raise the bar of our operational excellence. We know we’ll find talent in abundance in Fresno to join the Amazon team.”
Panorea Avdis, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), said, “In just five years, Amazon has become one of the fastest-growing and largest employers in the Central Valley, providing thousands of Californians with good-paying jobs. Whether it’s the California Competes Tax Credit program, site selection or permitting assistance, GO-Biz partners with companies to help them expand and grow their operations. Thanks in part to a partnership with the state, Amazon continues to be a strong driver of job creation and positive economic impact, and we are thrilled to see them expand into Fresno and the lower Central Valley.”
Full-time employees at Amazon receive competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, 401(k) and company stock awards starting day one, the company says. Amazon also offers regular full-time employees maternity and parental leave benefits and access to programs like Career Choice, where it will prepay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, more than 9,000 employees are pursuing degrees in fields such as game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology.
