Mississippi Amazon Facility to Open in July After Delay

CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Amazon’s latest success heart in Mississippi is about to open in mid-July, 18 months after the corporate introduced the mission.

Joey Deason, govt director of the Madison County Financial Improvement Authority, on Thursday confirmed the July 18 opening of the state’s third such facility, The Clarion Ledger reported. The corporate has different facilities in Byhalia and Olive Department.

“We’re wanting ahead to the beginning of operations in July, and they’re excited to get began as effectively,” Deason mentioned. “They’ve had a number of boots on the bottom, working from a administration standpoint for effectively over a yr.”

The 700,000-square-foot (65,000-square-meter) facility on the Madison County Mega Website in Canton is predicted to carry greater than 1,000 full-time jobs to the world. It’ll perform as a holding and sorting facility for most of the merchandise Amazon sells and ships, a spot the place folks will work alongside robots to fill orders and ship packages. It’ll even be the primary in Mississippi to function Amazon’s robotics know-how.

All through the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide provide chain has been stymied, complicating delivery, spiking costs and reducing output. When the power was introduced in November 2020, it was set to be operational a yr later, with jobs stuffed by the 2021 vacation buying season.

“It’s my understanding that Amazon has been deploying a lot of these assets to different areas till this facility was up and operating,” Deason mentioned. “They’ve clearly had some points with provide chain. Now that they’re prepared, we’re excited to see them onboarding folks.”

Deason mentioned he believes the hiring course of will start the primary week of June and can proceed for 45 days till the start of operations. Whereas the dedication is for 1,000 jobs, he mentioned the quantity might soar to as many as 1,800 in the course of the vacation season in November and December.

Whereas the constructing is full and able to go, he couldn’t verify whether or not all of the work contained in the constructing has been accomplished.

“I can say that the constructing is to a degree the place they’re able to go and start operations,” Deason mentioned.

He mentioned he expects over the following 30 days there will probably be a print, media, radio and social media blitz to achieve potential staff and fill the 1,000 jobs being provided. The positions are anticipated to begin at $15 an hour and supply advantages.

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