Amazon Launches New State-of-the-Art Inbound Cross Dock Fulfillment Center in Chesapeake
By: Amazon
Last week, Amazon opened its new state-of-the-art Inbound Cross Dock Fulfillment Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. The 640,000-square-foot processing center in the city of Chesapeake will create 1,000 full and part-time jobs. This new facility expands Amazon’s robust operations and logistics network in the state, where there are more than 30,000 full and part-time employees across the commonwealth. This is the first Inbound Cross Dock Fulfillment Center in the commonwealth. These buildings receive and consolidate products from vendors and then ship products to surrounding fulfillment centers within the Amazon network.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 of the fulfillment center’s employees have contributed 900 hours through 14 volunteer activities supporting the local community. The events have touched City Parks, The Salvation Army, The Boys and Girls Club, food banks, and the Ability Center of Virginia among others.
“As Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, my job is to get the most out of every dollar of revenue to help our district,” said Delegate Barry Knight. “Having a world class distribution facility and its 1,000 employees locate in our area goes a long way towards meeting the budgetary needs of our communities. South Hampton Roads is glad to see Amazon’s continued investment in the South Hampton Roads region for businesses, their employees and their families.”
“Amazon has quickly become one of Hampton Roads’ largest and most engaged employers,” said President & CEO of Hampton Roads Alliance Douglas L. Smith.” The opening of this facility in Chesapeake represents yet another milestone in their tremendous growth in the region, aided by the impressive collaboration between our partners in the City of Chesapeake, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and the Port of Virginia. We are confident that this is only the beginning of Amazon’s relationship with the Hampton Roads community.”
Amazon first launched its Virginia operations in 2006 with a fulfillment center in Sterling. Since then, the company has grown its robust operations network to include more than 20 operations facilities within the commonwealth. In addition to the company’s Arlington headquarters, Amazon also has 15 Whole Foods Market locations, 4 Amazon Fresh locations, and 1 faster than same-day fulfillment center across the state.
“Amazon is excited to continue its growth and investment in Virginia with a new state-of-the-art operations facility in Chesapeake,” said Melissa Nick, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Customer Fulfillment. “The commonwealth and its incredible workforce have been vital to our ability to serve our incredible customers and provide great selection and super-fast Prime shipping speeds across the region.”
Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $34 billion in Virginia through its local fulfillment center and cloud infrastructure, research facilities, and compensation to thousands of employees. Amazon’s investments in Virginia contributed an additional $27 billion into the economy and, using methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the company estimates its investments in the state have created an additional 96,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s 30,000 direct hires.
“I am very excited that Amazon has launched a new fulfillment center here in Chesapeake,” said Senator John Cosgrove. “So many of my constituents depend on timely delivery of goods from Amazon, so I am very happy that Amazon’s footprint is expanding here in Hampton Roads.”
Amazon is proud to offer an average starting wage for hourly employees of more than $18 per hour in the U.S. and comprehensive benefits for full-time employees. These benefits include health, vision, and dental insurance; a 401(k) with 50% company match; up to 20 weeks paid parental leave; Amazon’s Career Choice program, through which the company funds the cost of an employee’s college tuition, including classes, books, and fees; Amazon Care, which offers the best of virtual care and in-person healthcare services; and Amazon’s Resources for Living program, a free mental health benefit offering services and support for employees, their families and their households.