Hundreds of job openings at Fresno's Amazon fulfillment center
The 855,000 square foot Fresno Amazon fulfillment center building has over 5,000 employees, and recently, hundreds of job opportunities in the Central Valley became open.
Video TranscriptJASON OLIVEIRA: ABC 30 has taken action to let you know about new job opportunities. Hundreds of positions are available in the Fresno Amazon Fulfillment Center. And for the first time since the pandemic began, we got an exclusive look at the changes implemented because of COVID-19. Action News reporter Elisa Navarro takes us inside the facility.
ELISA NAVARRO: In the last year, the way things run inside the Fresno Amazon Fulfillment Center have changed drastically from the everyday workflow to the consumer demand.
CRAIG NORRIS: Amazon has become more and more needed during this pandemic. And our goal is to be able to deliver for our customers.
ELISA NAVARRO: This 855,000 square foot building has over 5,000 employees and recently, hundreds of job opportunities in the Central Valley became open. General Manager Craig Norris says the safety of their employees has always been a top priority. And during the pandemic, they sprung into action and made some changes.
CRAIG NORRIS: The company spent $11 billion on this infrastructure in the past year.
ELISA NAVARRO: Money that went toward hiring social distancing ambassadors, adding secondary checkpoints, physical barriers, sanitation throughout the fulfillment, and there's more.
CRAIG NORRIS: Being able to provide a vaccination and testing site here on-site so our associates don't have to impact their daily lives.
ELISA NAVARRO: In addition Amazon is investing $300 million this year to provide a new program called working well huddle to reduce injuries in the workplace. Their trainings look like this. The pilot program from 2019 to 2020 showed a substantial decrease in injuries.
CRAIG NORRIS: We saw a 32% reduction in musculoskeletal disorder injuries. We saw a 50% reduction in lost time injuries due to those type of injuries. And our ultimate goal with these programs and others is to have a 50% reduction by 2025.
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ELISA NAVARRO: And while these Amazon Robotics continue doing most of the work, hands are still needed. Norris says with the industry growing so quickly, opportunities to move up the ladder within Amazon will always be there.
CRAIG NORRIS: I tell my team all the time that joining the Amazon is like hitting the career ladder, the career jackpot. With our growth and with how we're being able to deliver for our customers expand the business, the possibilities are unlimited.
Amazon to Start Hiring to Fill Jobs at New Erie Facility
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That announcement comes from the office of Erie Mayor Joe Schember.
A spokesman for Amazon, which has more than a million employees worldwide, could not be reached for comment Friday.
More: Amazon to create 100 jobs in Erie as it moves into former Steris Corp. building
According to the mayor's office, the tentative launch date for the new facility is July 14, but Amazon will begin hiring the week of June 6.
The company is asking prospective employees to text ERIENOW to 77088, according to the mayor's office.
By sending texts to that number, job seekers are signing up for automated updates about job openings.
Amazon is moving into the former Steris Corp. building at 2424 W. 23rd St. in Millcreek Township.
The building will be used to establish what Amazon calls a delivery station, which the company describes as a place where "customer orders are prepared for last-mile delivery to customers."
Amazon is leasing 112,500 square feet of a 360,000-square-foot building that had been used entirely by Steris Corp. until the Mentor, Ohio-based company announced plans to move manufacturing operations to Mexico in 2006.
The company went on to close its offices in that same building in 2011.
While portions of the building have been used in years since, most notably for warehouse space, the Amazon project represents the most ambitious reuse of the building.
According to building permits granted by Millcreek Township, $5.3 million in renovations were planned for the building owned by Erie Commerce LLC.
Amazon hasn't been publicly precise about the number of employees that it's looking to hire in Erie, but the total has been publicly described as between "dozens" and about 100.
The company, based in Washington state, hasn't posted pay rates for its jobs in Erie, but it has been public about its overall pay scale.
According to Amazon, "Our starting hourly wages are at least $15 per hour for all full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and contractors. In addition to fair pay, employees have opportunities to own Amazon stock, participate in 401(k) plans with 50% company match, and enroll in paid life and accident insurance."
The Erie delivery station and others like it — locations that will receive shipments from Amazon and then ship them to customers — is expected to have an expanded role at Amazon in the months and years ahead.
According to a September Bloomberg report, Amazon plans to open 1,000 small delivery hubs in cities and suburbs across the United States.
According to Freightwaves.com, an online publication that tracks the trucking and logistics industries, the new delivery locations are "part of Amazon’s strategy to grab the share of merchants who sell on Amazon but rely on others for fulfillment and delivery."
Contact Jim Martin at 814-870-1668 or jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNMartin.
Want an Amazon job?
Text ERIENOW to 77088.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Help wanted: Amazon seeks employees as it prepares to launch Erie facility.đđđđđđđđđđ
