TUCSON, Ariz. - It's been a high stakes, hush-hush project for months---but now the lid is off a project that should bring 15 hundred jobs to Tucson
Amazon will build a giant fulfillment center on a plot of land on Kolb, just north of I-10.
1500 jobs for Tucson. Long rumored Amazon fulfillment center confirmed. @kgun9 pic.twitter.com/TZsfGKDmKf
— Craig Smith (@csmithKGUNTV) May 16, 2018
The company made the announcement Wednesday.
Amazon fulfillment centers use a lot of workers and a lot of robots to move products out for speedy delivery.
The company says the Tucson center will be more automated than any other Amazon fulfillment center but there will still be about 15 hundred human jobs
Lauren Lynch of Amazon says, “We're going to be looking for all types of jobs from HR managers, managers, engineers, technicians to skilled and unskilled hourly full time roles.”
The center will go up on Kolb, just north of I-10. It should open sometime in early to mid 2019 with recruitment to start a few months ahead. When Amazon is ready to hire, you’ll be able to apply through http://www.amazondelivers.jobs/
Bringing Amazon to Tucson was a team effort with Pima County, the City of Tucson, and Sun Corridor economic development.
Sun Corridor CEP Joe Snell says, “We're talking about a 600 million dollar economic impact to this community in five years so it takes a lot. What they were primarily looking for was, could they fill the jobs, did we have the talent base and the right infrastructure around that talent base? Obviously, we proved that to them. But it's usually the workforce that's the number one driver."
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Sun Corridor released this statement about the fulfillment center:
Sun Corridor Inc. Chairman's Circle, Board of Directors, Investors and Stakeholders,
I am writing to inform you that Amazon has selected Tucson/Pima County as the site for a significant operation. A new high-tech Amazon Fulfillment Center will locate at the Port of Tucson, adding 1,500 jobs in one of the largest buildings ever built in the Tucson area. The new 855,000 square-foot facility will allow Amazon to scale up its operations in Southern Arizona and continue its rapid global expansion. The economic impact will be $600 million added to the regional economy over the next five years.
Many of you remember our bold move with a cactus gift to Amazon last fall. We sent a compelling message that we have room for Amazon to grow here and nothing signified that better than a Saguaro cactus.
This project is the result of a very competitive 8-month process and illustrates the power of collaboration in achieving economic development success. Project partners include Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona Commerce Authority, Pima County, City of Tucson and Tucson Electric Power.
"This announcement of 1,500 new jobs with Amazon, one of the world's largest brand names, is huge for Southern Arizona," said David G. Hutchens, chair, Sun Corridor Inc. and president & CEO, UNS Energy Corp., Tucson Electric Power & UniSource Energy Services. "The ripple effect of a project of this magnitude will benefit the region for many years down the road."
I'd like to thank members of the Sun Corridor Inc. Board of Directors in their successful effort to recruit Amazon.
Simply put, we had the right assets to win this deal. This latest announcement in Southern Arizona's transportation & logistics industry results in critical mass, with three major name-brand distribution centers now operating in the Tucson region: Target.com, HomeGoods and now Amazon. What a fantastic foundation to grow this sector exponentially by attracting suppliers, vendors and other logistics firms in the coming years.
Please see Amazon's news release below, issued today.
Regards,
Joe Snell
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild says Amazon did not ask for incentives just a strong workforce and a great location for moving goods.
"We're on two major interstates, the I-10 and the I-19. The I-19 goes into Mexico. We have a rail line. These guys are building at the Port of Tucson where there's a rail line that stops and in this location, you're a couple of miles from the airport."
And the Mayor says other companies notice when a big name like Amazon decides Tucson's a good place to build and that makes them more likely to bring their business--and jobs here.
