Amazon's massive $550 million warehouse and distribution center is under development near Buffalo — but local officials have reportedly expressed fears the e-commerce giant won't find enough workers for the estimated 1,000 jobs it will create when it opens.
The “first-mile” facility, about the size of 53 football fields in the rural town of Niagara, has no public transportation service and the jobs are not considered particularly high-paying, though they can fetch more than the minimum wage.
The building, scheduled to open in 2026, is being constructed at a time when the workforce in Western New York is shrinking and demand for remote work remains high.
“I'm hoping we'll be able to find 1,000 people to work here,” said Niagara Town Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso told The Buffalo News,
“I think it's quite a challenge. We try to employ people in town, and it's difficult, and our wages are quite high. It's going to be a big challenge.”
Construction cranes are hard at work at the fulfillment center site at 8995 Lockport Road, where a steel structure is being erected atop 216 acres of land that Amazon purchased last month.
In 2022, Local government agencies approve $124 million package of tax incentives prompting Amazon to build the Niagara facility.
But the subsidy – reported to be the ninth largest ever given to Amazon – sparked protests due to the fact that residents were concerned about the traffic problems the facility would cause, as well as the $15 an hour jobs it offered – which many considered inadequate.
Virtuoso told The Buffalo News that there are plans to add a bus route that will allow workers to travel to and from the site from Niagara Falls and the SUNY Niagara Community College campus in Sanborn.
“I believe if someone wants to work, they should be able to go to work,” Virtuoso said.
“Many things can change, including wages. We're all on the same page. We know what it takes to keep people employed, and I know Amazon knows that, too.”
The Post has sought comment from Amazon.
The 3.1 million-square-foot fulfillment center — where products are processed before shipping — will use robots to receive, store and ship items that customers purchase through the company's popular website.
Amazon operates three “First Mile” facilities in New York state — in Rochester, Syracuse and Staten Island.
In total, Amazon has built 10 fulfillment and sortation centers as well as 36 delivery stations in the Empire State since 2010 — adding about 47,000 jobs to the state’s economy.
In total, Amazon has invested $41.5 billion in New York state over the past 15 years.
In 2019, local progressive Democratic officials in New York City, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, led a public backlash against Amazon's plans to build its headquarters in New York City. The Long Island City section of Queens.
Amazon has It was agreed to build a larger complex on the eastern river bankwhere it anticipated hiring 25,000 people. In return, the company received tax breaks A total of nearly $3 billion was received from the city and state.
Then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and then-Governor Andrew Cuomo supported the Amazon deal, arguing that the tax revenue from the influx of new workers would ultimately outweigh the incentives offered to the company.
Outrage over tax incentives spurred Amazon Abandonment of planned Long Island City campus. Instead, it decided to expand plans for its HQ2 in Crystal City, Virginia, as well as further renovate its main headquarters in Seattle.
