Amazon fulfillment Cente

Amazon announced on Monday its plans for second fulfillment center in Mississippi. The new Amazon fulfillment center will be located in DeSoto County. The Mississippi fulfillment center will built on more than one million-square-foot. Hillwood Investment Properties will develop the facility.

“Mississippi has proven itself to be a great place for Amazon to do business and gives us the opportunity to better serve our customers in the region,” said Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment. “We are excited about our growth and remain committed to creating a positive economic impact in the region with job opportunities that have great pay and benefits.”

The Mississippi facility will create more than 500 full time jobs. The minmum wages for the employees will start at $15 an hour with comprehensive benefits starting on day one. The employees will pick, pack and ship large customer items, such as bicycles, fishing rods, kayaks, larger household goods, patio furniture, pet food and sports equipment.

“Amazon’s decision to locate a second fulfillment center in North Mississippi is a tremendous milestone for DeSoto County and our entire state,” Governor Phil Bryant said. “This announcement serves as a shining example to industry leaders around the globe that Mississippi plays to win. We offer a supportive business climate and integrated transportation network so companies with shipping needs, such as Amazon, can reach their customers in rapid time and remain a step ahead of their competition.”

On top of Amazon’s $15 minimum wage, 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.

Earlier, Amazon announces a new fulfillment center in Auburndale, Florida creating more than 500 full time jobs in the town. 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. 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.

“In just 10 months, Amazon has announced two Mississippi locations creating 1,300 jobs for the people of North Mississippi. Amazon’s new DeSoto County location is evidence of the fact that the Mississippi team works together to support extraordinary companies, enabling them to achieve their goals in our state,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough, Jr. “The Mississippi Development Authority, along with the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, DeSoto County and the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors, is proud to once again support one of the world’s most innovative companies as Amazon brings another 500 career opportunities to Mississippians in DeSoto County.”

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 Mississippi. There are more than 7,500 authors, small and medium-sized businesses, and developers in Mississippi growing their companies and reaching new customers on Amazon products and services.