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Amazon Inc. plans to open a new distribution center in Hancock County that could employ anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people.
The Seattle-based e-commerce company, which already has a hefty presence in central Indiana, plans to occupy a 660,384-square-foot building already under construction at 4498 W. County Road 300 N., northwest of Greenfield.
A construction permit filed with the state Jan. 31 indicates the facility will act as a fulfillment and distribution center—specifically an “inbound cross dock” facility, a distribution center that services Amazon’s direct-to-consumer distribution centers. Such facilities generally receive items directly from suppliers and disperse them among the company’s network of order-fulfillment facilities.
The permit also indicated about 1,000 people would be employed at the center. Sources familiar with the project told IBJ employment is expected to include about 800 full-time workers and hundreds more during the holiday season.
Amazon confirmed the plans in an email on Monday afternoon after IBJ initially published this story.
“Amazon is excited to announce our continued investment in Indiana with a new operations facility in Greenfield,” the company said in written remarks. “More than 800 new, fulltime employees will receive and ship products to other Amazon fulfillment centers in the network.”
The company said, in addition to a minimum wage of $15, employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package with full medical, vision and dental insurance, a 401(k) and up to 20 weeks of paid maternal and paternal leave.
The Hancock County fulfillment center will be owned by Indianapolis-based firm Ambrose Property Group, which began construction on the $78 million structure in November. Much of the building’s shell appears to have already been completed. The permit—filed by the Phoenix office of international architecture firm DLR Group—does not say how much Amazon will spend to build out the facility.
Last year, Amazon opened an $80 million distribution center in Greenwood, which is expected to employ up to 1,250 people by the end of 2021.
The building is part of a 166-acre project known as the Mount Comfort Logistics Center, which will have four properties ranging from 200,000 to more than 800,000 square feet. The site is just north of Interstate 70 and about one mile east of Mt. Comfort Road.
Each building received a 10-year tax abatement from the Hancock County Council in October, though it is not clear how much Ambrose stands to save in property taxes from the breaks.
A spokesperson for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. said the state is offering Amazon up to $3.8 million in conditional tax credits for the project. The credits are performance based, meaning the company must make hires before it can claim the credits.
The IEDC also plans to offer Hancock County up to $500,000 for infrastructure improvements at the site. Both incentives must still be approved by the IEDC’s board of directors.
The project sits on the north side of County Road West 300 North, across from another industrial development with operations for Tsuda USA and University Loft Co.
The Indianapolis office of Los Angeles-based real estate brokerage CBRE is responsible for marketing the industrial park.
Ambrose declined to comment for this story. Local officials did not immediately respond to calls and emails requesting comment.
The company also has warehousing facilities in Indianapolis, Plainfield and Whitestown, along with Jeffersonville.
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Oh great, another tax-advantaged injury-factory for Amazon to pay no taxes while they chew up and spit out our citizens with low enough wages to adding nothing back to the local economy.
Yup. And this facility isn’t remotely close to their primary labor pool. Just like every other warehouse or distribution facility, they’re going to find out that they can’t retain employees because it’s so difficult/expensive to get to and then complain about it.
$15 dollars and hour minimum wage (for a job that requires few skills) which equals $31,200 a year; comprehensive medical dental, and vision insurance; 401k retirement plan with 50% employer match (beginning on first day of job); and 20 weeks of maternal/parental leave…that is what Amazon offers. Now, what do you offer your employees?
Brent – $15 is barely an adequate wage in Indiana, especially when that’s a starting wage at a lot of places now. Yes, my company pays that (with actual career paths) plus full benefits, generous 401k with over 100% match, etc…
Amazon has more than DOUBLE the national average for injuries in their facilities. A forklift driver was crushed to death here in Indiana, and the company and State essentially swept it under the rug in an effort to get HQ2.
Anecdotally, I also have two close friends who were very fit and healthy 20-somethings when they started at Amazon Fulfillment Centers here in Indiana – both were hurt so badly in the first few years that they had to leave the company, and have ongoing health problems due to the injuries. Look up the reports of grueling mandatory 60 hours overtime, “voluntary time off” that is absolutely not voluntary and is actually just never knowing how many hours you will work this week, constantly increasing impossible quotas, and zero respect for privacy or dignity…
Brent B., you’ve obviously never worked at an Amazon facility. Yes, they raised the pay $1 or $2 an hour to meet the $15 minimum. But at the same time Amazon was taking away lucrative bonuses and stocks that were worth far, far more than that $1 or $2 pay increase. Benefits are excellent at Amazon…no doubt. But the conditions faced by workers in those facilities are beyond horrible. That’s why Amazon has huge turnover and has to import workers from other countries.
Totally agree. They already have a reputation for treating their workers like crap and don’t do a lot for them. They’re really starting to get a reputation as a bad company that just exploits their workers and now we get to deal with that in our own community. And yet some will celebrate as a great win because “jobs.”
It’s about time Hancock County gets something big. I know my granddaughter would jump at this chance. It certainly beats her current job at Walmart.
The bigger question here is why does Indiana still have one of the lowest, if not THE lowest, hourly minimum wage rates in the country? If an individual cannot afford to live on the $15 an hour Amazon will be and is currently paying, how in the world is someone expected to have any kind of quality of life making only $7.35 an hour?
Because the jobs paying $7.25/hr arent meant to be jobs to support or raise a family on. They are meant to be jobs for high school students or retired people to supplement income.
And how many businesses pay minimum wage? Pretty much none. Creating artificial wage floors is not the way to improve worker pay.
minimum wage laws need to be removed and let companies decide what the wage will be based on market conditions…..but they would be lost without a govt. mandated floor as the starting point.
It would be a true auction for labor.
Welcome to Walmart. The Robot Will Grab Your Groceries.
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Walmart is testing back-of-store automated systems that can collect 800 products an hour, 10 times as many as a store worker
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-walmart-the-robot-will-grab-your-groceries-11578499200
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N.B. This article is behind WSJ’s paywall and will count against your quota.
Yeah, because companies are just dying to hire people over 65 for their $7.25 jobs. What planet do you live on?