Given the increase sales demands generated in part by features such as Amazon Prime, Amazon.com Inc. has recently announced plans to open a New Jersey fulfillment center. As one of the top U.S. online retailers with growth projections continuing to increase, Amazon recently released holiday sales numbers that were more favorable than predicted and that generate a real need for increased production facilities for packing and shipping of merchandise. In addition, Amazon announced that it plans to further expand its services in Canada by offering Amazon Prime services there in the near future, giving Canadian customers access to the same shipping savings options as U.S. customers.
New Jersey Fulfillment Center
The new fulfillment center is expected to be 1 million square feet and is planned for the Robbinsville Township in New Jersey. It is expected to open next year. Estimated at about $200 million to construct, the project will create hundreds of full-time positions once completed and many more temporary and construction jobs in the meantime. Once open, workers will be provided full-time hours, benefits, and a higher than average wage than is generally seen in the retail sector. Orders for the more compact merchandise such as books, DVDs and CDs will be processed from this facility.
Gov. Chris Christie was optimistic about the jobs being created by this facility for the state of New Jersey, and Mayor Dave Fried of Robbinsville Township expressed gratitude that his area was able to meet Amazon's site criteria to be selected out of all the possible areas in the state. Amazon Vice President Mike Roth also expressed his gratitude to New Jersey state government regulatory agencies for collaborating with Amazon in making the facility a reality.
Amazon Expands in the E-Commerce Battleground