Amazon: Channahon's Largest Employer This Week

CHANNAHON, IL —Less than a year after breaking ground, Amazon's 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Channahon has opened for business. Amazon said it welcomed new employees inside the Bradley Road building Sunday, marking its first day of operation. After a morning of learning and fun activities, associates received the first item into the new building: a pallet of Shark Rocket vacuums, the company said.

"It's an exciting day as we officially open our doors at our new fulfillment center in Channahon," Amazon's Channahon Site Manager Nick Lamb said in a news release. "We have an incredible staff on board, and we're excited to be offering industry-leading jobs with comprehensive benefits. We look forward to being a member of the Channahon community."

Amazon also announced it made a $10,000 donation to the Northern Illinois Food Bank which has a large warehouse in Joliet on Larkin Avenue.

"Northern Illinois Food Bank thanks Amazon for demonstrating care for our neighbors in need as the company celebrates the opening of their Channahon distribution center," said Julie Yurko, President and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. "Amazon's donation will help provide nutritious food for our neighbors. The Food Bank's mission to solve hunger in Northern Illinois is important every day, and especially now, as many more people in our communities find their lives disrupted by the economic challenges due to COVID-19."

Amazon said that its new fulfillment center currently employs more than 1,000 full-time associates who will pack and ship large items, including sports equipment, patio furniture, fishing rods, pet food, bicycles, and larger household goods.

On top of Amazon's industry-leading minimum starting wage of $15 an hour, 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. For comparison, these wages are higher than the state minimum wage of $10 per hour.

The company 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. Amazon also offers employees access to innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will 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 across the globe have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming, and radiology, to name a few.

Amazon said that positions are still available at the Channahon fulfillment center. Interested candidates can visit amazon.com/willcountyjobs to learn more and apply online.

Channahon also has a second Amazon facility that recently opened at Exchange Boulevard and the Bluff Road exit for Interstate 55. That location is across the road from a Love's Travel Stop with three restaurants that are now under construction.