Amazon ‘Last Mile’ Facility to Go Into Saltillo Facility
Aug 12, 2024 - Saltillo, MS
by: Daily Journal Reports
The details are scarce for now, but Amazon has announced plans to open a "last mile" facility in Saltillo's Turner Industrial Park.
Plans for the 96,000 square-foot delivery station announced Monday are in the very early stages, with renovations to an existing on-site spec building scheduled to begin in the coming weeks, the company said.
“This last mile facility will allow us to better serve customers in Lee County and the surrounding area,” said Jessica Breaux, senior manager of economic development for Amazon. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Community Development Foundation and Lee County. We look forward to sharing more details about this facility in the future.”
The company said the new last mile facility will help "power the last mile of Amazon’s fulfillment process by enabling fast, everyday delivery directly to customers’ doorstep." Packages are transported to delivery stations from Amazon fulfillment and sortation centers, and then employees process customer packages for last mile delivery. Most employees in customer fulfillment and transportation earn between $17 and $28 per hour.
Amazon will utilize a spec building already in place at Turner Industrial Park, and will make renovations to it to meet its needs.
“CDF began investing in the construction of speculative shell buildings several years ago for the purpose of recruiting new companies to our community,” said CDF Board Chair Charlie Kinney. “This investment is paying great dividends now as a global brand such as Amazon has decided to locate here into one of our buildings.”
How many jobs the Saltillo facility will provide, and the investment Amazon will make, is unknown.
But the company has made several similar announcements in recent months. A 65,000-square-foot last mile facility in Jackson, Tennessee, was announced in March, as was a facility in Burlington, Iowa. In Rapho Township, Pennsylvania, a facility opened in March with 150 direct and indirect jobs. In May, a facility was announced for Yakima, Washington, and Fallon, Nevada.
A $20 million facility in Bakersfield, California, opened last week with 250 jobs.
“We are excited to welcome Amazon to Lee County,” said Wesley Webb, president of the Lee County Board of Supervisors. “Amazon’s presence in our community will help attract other major brands to locate here. This will also increase their service capacity to the region. We want to especially thank our partners at Tennessee Valley Authority and Appalachian Regional Commission for helping us and assisting with product development for our recruitment of companies.”
Since 2010, Amazon has created more than 6,000 full- and part-time jobs in Mississippi and has invested more than $3.5 billion across the state. That number includes both investment in infrastructure and compensation to employees. These investments have contributed an additional $3.2 billion to the Mississippi economy and have helped create more than 11,700 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s direct hires — from jobs in construction and logistics to professional services.
In addition, more than 1,500 independent sellers — most of which are small and medium-sized businesses — in Mississippi are selling to customers in Amazon’s store, creating thousands of additional jobs across the state.