New Amazon fulfillment center means another 800 Utah jobs

We finally know what West Jordan’s mysterious “Project Lonestar” at the intersection of Bacchus Highway and Old Bingham Highway is going to be. Last week, Amazon announced plans to build another large Salt Lake City-area facility on the 80-acre site.

Amazon said in a release that it is planning to build a 1 million-plus-square-foot fulfillment center on the lot. Amazon will hire more than 800 full-time employees at the center and pay them a minimum of $15 an hour plus “comprehensive benefits.” No timeline for groundbreaking or completion of the project was announced by Amazon.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Amazon currently employs about 2,000 at its Utah operations.

Amazon said employees at the new fulfillment center “will pick, pack and ship large customer items, such as sports equipment, patio furniture, fishing rods, pet food, kayaks, bicycles and larger household goods.” The current Amazon fulfillment facility packages and ships only smaller items.

According to news reports, the West Jordan City Council has approved more than $1.6 million in incentives to bring Amazon to the city. West Jordan will also build a regional water collection facility at the location and the site developer, Seefried Industrial Properties, has committed to install $3.6 million in off-site water, sewer and road infrastructure that will be dedicated to West Jordan.

“We’re excited to open a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in West Jordan and to continue innovating in a state committed to providing great opportunities for jobs and customer experience. Utah has a talented workforce and we are very excited to grow employment beyond the more than 2,000 associates already serving customers in the state,” said Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment.

“We are pleased that Amazon has chosen Utah again for such a strategic part of Amazon’s business by setting up another fulfillment center in West Jordan, said Gov. Gary R. Herbert. “As the ‘Crossroads of the West,’ Utah is the perfect place for companies in the distribution, fulfillment and logistics industries to enjoy great success. This is another example of the strength of Utah’s economy and the high quality of life we enjoy”

All new Amazon employees will go through hours of safety training and have access to continuing education opportunities through Amazon’s upskilling programs such as Career Choice, said Davis. “In this program, the company will pre-pay 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, over 25,000 employees have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.”

“West Jordan is thrilled to welcome a new Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon’s decision to invest here reflects confidence in the city’s business environment and excellent workforce,” said West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding. “This project, with approximately 800 new jobs, will provide our residents with even greater opportunity to work close to home. To the folks at Amazon, thank you for selecting the city of West Jordan for this new facility. We are proud to partner with you and are encouraged by the additional growth this project will bring.”{/mprestriction}