Table of Contents
SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. is expanding its footprint in New Jersey by opening two new fulfillment centers in Florence and Carteret, the company announced last month. The centers are expected to bring more than 2,000 full-time jobs to the Garden State.
“We place our fulfillment centers close to customers to provide the fastest possible delivery times, and this expansion in New Jersey is directly tied to our increasing customer demand,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s vice president of North America fulfillment operations. “We currently have more than 5,500 full-time jobs in the state, and we are excited about the opportunity to add 2,000 new full-time positions.”
Amazon offers its full-time employees competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including health care, a 401(k) plan and company stock awards.
Amazon currently operates a fulfillment center in Carteret with more than 500 full-time associates. The new fulfillment center, the second in Carteret, will be more than 800,000 square feet and will employ more than 1,500 full-time associates. The over 600,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Florence will employ more than 500 full-time associates when opened.
“More fulfillment centers mean more jobs for New Jersey and, while we celebrate the sheer number of jobs being created, we also want to recognize the impact that these investments will have on their new communities. The employees who will work with Amazon will form the fabric of their neighborhoods,” said Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno. “As Amazon continues to show its commitment to the towns of Florence and Carteret, we will continue to demonstrate our intent to help these communities grow and thrive as well.”
The company also announced last month an agreement with California State University, Long Beach, to open another pickup location at a major university. Amazon@TheBeach, a staffed pickup location at the school’s bookstore on the CSULB campus, offers the campus community a convenient location to pick up and return Amazon orders, including virtually everything one needs, from everyday essentials to technology.
Since 2015, Amazon has opened staffed pickup locations at the following universities: Purdue University; University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and University of California, Berkeley, as well as in the college communities of University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of Cincinnati.
In addition to CSULB, Amazon will open five more locations in 2016 with the University of Pennsylvania; University of California, Davis; University of Texas at Austin; and Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as in the college community of the University of Akron.
In other Amazon news, the company announced its business marketplace, which connects businesses with suppliers, hit $1 billion in sales for its first year — signaling that the company is now a major force in an industry estimated to be worth some $8.2 trillion in the U.S.
Amazon Business offers U.S. businesses exclusive pricing and discounts for buying in bulk, free two-day shipping for orders of more than $49, tax exemption and the option to get products delivered with an Amazon guarantee.
Amazon’s entree into the business-to-business market challenges other notable companies, such as Staples Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., as well as smaller specialty distributors. Online business-to-business spending is expected to reach $855 billion in 2016 and exceed $9 trillion by 2020, according to some estimates.