Amazon will create a new 855,000 s/f fulfillment center in Staten Island and has launched a search to find the right site for a $5 billion headquarters site.
The staten Island facility is Amazon’s first fulfillment center in New York State and will create more than 2,250 new, full-time jobs with opportunities for employees to engage with advanced robotics.
“We are excited to bring our first fulfillment center to New York and work alongside the state’s incredible workforce,” said Sanjay Shah, Amazon’s Vice President of Customer Fulfillment.
“The support of local leaders has been instrumental in our ability to come to New York, and we are grateful for the welcome we’ve received to bring thousands of new jobs with benefits starting on day one.”
The Staten Island project is being developed by Matrix Development Group. In order to encourage Amazon’s expansion into New York State, Empire State Development offered the company up to $18 million in performance-based tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program.
In addition to the 2,250 new jobs at the facility, Amazon will retain an additional 886 jobs in New York over the next five years.
“Amazon’s decision to establish the first state-of-the-art fulfillment center in New York affirms our position at the forefront of the growing global innovation economy, and this investment will create thousands of jobs and opportunities for the Staten Island community,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
“New York continues to demonstrate that we have the workforce, technology, and the pro-business climate to help companies grow and succeed.”
Employees at the fulfillment center will work alongside robotics to pick, pack and ship customer items.
“We’ve been talking about the West Shore of Staten Island as our borough’s ‘Jobs Coast,’ and today that talk becomes reality in a big way. In fact, this project will be the biggest single job creator in our borough’s history,” said Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo.
“These jobs are being created by the private sector doing what it does best, and our role at Borough Hall has been to help Matrix and Amazon navigate.”
“We are excited to see Amazon choose to significantly expand its footprint in New York State,” said Empire State Development President, CEO, and Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “This project will create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers in a rapidly-growing industry and proves that our tech economy’s momentum is stronger than ever before.”
Meanwhile, Amazon announced plans to open Amazon HQ2, a second company headquarters in North America.
It expects to invest over $5 billion in construction and to grow the second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs.
The company issued a request for proposals for an urban or downtown campus similar in layout to its 8.1 million square feet Seattle campus which features a total of 33 with 24 restaurants, cafes and other services for the 40,000 Amazon workers.
“We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”
