Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, center, stands with partners from the City of Bessemer and Jefferson County to break ground on Amazon’s new fulfillment center.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey was on hand today to break ground on the new $325 million Amazon fulfillment center for the Birmingham region.
Located on a more than 100-acre site in Bessemer, the online retail giant is building a 2 million-square-foot, multi-floor, state-of-the-art fulfillment center that will employ at least 1,500 people and take a footprint of 15 football fields.
Amazon employees at the state-of-the-art fulfillment center will work alongside innovative technology created by Amazon Robotics, which help employees complete jobs in a more efficient manner. Employees will pick, pack and ship small items to customers such as books, household items and toys.
Amazon’s fulfillment center will have an annual economic impact of $202.7 million on Jefferson County and a $232.1 million impact on Alabama, according to an analysis prepared by the prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research, Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama, and commissioned by the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA).
Annually, $122.7 million will be added to Jefferson County’s GDP, $44.8 million of which is earnings to households for 1,523 direct and indirect jobs; $137.3 million will be contributed to Alabama’s GDP annually, $79.6 million of which is earnings to Alabama households for 2,630 direct and indirect jobs.
The BBA worked with the following organizations to recruit Amazon: Alabama Department of Commerce, Jefferson County Commission, the City of Bessemer and its Industrial Development Board, AIDT, Alabama Department of Transportation, Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Alabama Power Co., Spire, Cushman & Wakefield | EGS Commercial Real Estate and U.S. Steel.
Gray Construction is the general contractor on the project and Seefried Industrial Properties is the developer. The two companies are assisted in the project by All-South Subcontractors Inc., American Fire, Bhate Geosciences Corp., Cooper Steel, Dunn Construction, Gaylor Electric, Goodwyn Mills Cawood, Jay-Ton Concrete Construction Co., Macgregor Associates Architects, Plateau Excavation Inc. and RJ Mechanical Inc.
Recruitment, screening and pre-employment training will be handled by AIDT. Interested candidates can visit www.amazondelivers.jobs.