Amazon.com to Open Fulfillment Center in Joliet

Photo: An Amazon Fulfillment Center in Wisconsin.

Amazon.com, Inc. has announced plans to open a nearly 500,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Joliet, according to a press release from Amazon. The site, which will create 1,000 full-time jobs when it opens, is the company’s first in the state.

According to an Amazon spokesperson, the center will be located at 250 Emerald Drive. An opening date has not yet been set.

“We are excited to create 1,000 great full-time jobs in Illinois with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on Day One,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North America operations. “We are grateful for the support of local and state leadership in helping to bring Amazon to Illinois and we look forward to being an active member of the community.”

Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk said he’s happy with Amazon’s decision to make Joliet the home of its first Illinois fulfillment center.

“We are thrilled that Amazon has chosen Joliet as the location for its new Illinois fulfillment center,” said O’Dekirk in a release. “The company is not only the leader in the e-commerce sector, but it also will create quality jobs for a diverse community throughout Joliet and Will County.”

Amazon employees at the fulfillment center will process smaller items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.

“The company is the leader in logistics innovation and technology,” said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development. “We welcome Amazon to Joliet and Will County and look forward to a long successful partnership.”

In addition to competitive wages, Amazon offers comprehensive benefits starting on Day One that include health insurance, 401(k) with 50 percent match, stock, bonuses and a network of support to help ensure employees succeed. Hourly employees are also eligible for innovative programs like Career Choice, where the company will pre-pay 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, employees are pursuing degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.

To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, visit www.workatamazonfulfillment.com. The project is being developed by GLP.