Amazon Continues Investment in Tennessee with Alcoa Fulfillment Center

New 634,812 square-foot site will create nearly 800 new, full-time jobs

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced plans to open a fulfillment center in Alcoa, Tennessee. The site, which is anticipated to launch in 2022, will create nearly 800 new, full-time jobs with benefits and opportunities to engage with advanced robotics. The company currently has fulfillment and sortation centers in Charleston, Chattanooga, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Memphis and Nashville.

“We are excited to continue creating a positive economic impact in the region with job opportunities and industry-leading benefits that start on the first day of the job,” said Holly Sullivan, Amazon’s head of worldwide economic development. “Tennessee is a great state for business and we are excited to have the opportunity to partner, grow and better serve our customers throughout this region.”

“Over the past year, Amazon has announced projects in each of Tennessee’s grand divisions, accounting for nearly 3,000 new jobs. As we continue to navigate through the pandemic and reboot our economy, we know our recovery is supported by the success of our Tennessee businesses. We are grateful that Amazon continues to provide jobs to thousands of Tennesseans, and we congratulate the company on its newest fulfillment center in Alcoa,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

The Alcoa facility will be Amazon’s third fulfillment center in Tennessee to use innovative robotics technology and the company’s eighth fulfillment center in the Volunteer State. Amazon employees at the more than 634,812 square-foot fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.

“It is a testament to the strength of Tennessee’s business climate that companies are attracted to our state and choose to operate and expand here. Amazon is a global brand that has invested $1.5 billion and created more than 25,000 jobs across all three grand divisions of our state, and we appreciate their team for choosing to grow in East Tennessee,” said Bob Rolfe, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. “We would also like to thank Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Clay Bright and his outstanding leadership team for their many contributions to help bring this project to fruition.”

On top of the company’s industry-leading starting wage from $15, the company offers full-time employees comprehensive benefits including full medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) with 50 percent match starting on day one. The company also offers up to 20 weeks of maternal and parental paid leave and innovative benefits such as Leave Share and Ramp Back, which give new parents flexibility with their growing families. In addition, Amazon has pledged to invest over $700 million to provide upskilling training for 100,000 U.S. employees for in demand jobs. Programs will help Amazonians from all backgrounds access training to move into highly skilled roles across the company’s corporate offices, tech hubs, fulfillment centers, retails stores, and transportation network, or pursue career paths outside of Amazon.

"Blount County, along with the cities of Alcoa and Maryville, are delighted Amazon made its decision to locate here. The jobs and worldwide recognition it brings are extremely beneficial to this area,” said Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell. “We thank Amazon, Governor Bill Lee, Tennessee ECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and our county and city commissioners for tirelessly working together to bring this project to fruition. I, along with the citizens of Blount County, wish them great success and look forward to working with them for many years to come."

All associates will go through hours of safety training and have access to continuing education opportunities through Amazon’s upskilling programs such as Career Choice. In this program, the company will pre-pay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, more than 25,000 employees have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.

“Having Amazon locate in a community has proven to be beneficial for everyone involved, and on behalf of the Blount County Industrial Development Board, I’m happy to welcome its leadership to Blount County and East Tennessee,” said Blount County Industrial Development Board Chair Matt Murray. “The regional economic impact of an operation like this will be felt almost immediately. We are excited to get this project progressing quickly and look forward to watching it grow.”

Amazon’s fulfillment network supports millions of businesses of all sizes worldwide through its Fulfillment by Amazon offering, and many of those local organizations are based in Tennessee. There are more than 30,000 authors, small and medium-sized businesses, and developers in Tennessee growing their companies and reaching new customers on Amazon products and services.

The project is being developed by Hillwood Development Company, Inc.

To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, visit www.amazondelivers.jobs.

About Amazon: Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/ and follow @AmazonNews.