CLY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — State and local officials, Amazon, and elected leaders celebrated the grand opening of SYR 1, the newest Amazon fulfilment center located in Clay, N.Y.
The facility features state-of-the-art packing, picking and storing technology allowing Amazon to quickly and more efficiently deliver products to it’s costumers. There are already 1,500 employees working alongside the robots, and there will soon be more.
“They promised us 1,000 jobs for this investment and right now we have over 1,500 full time jobs already today,” said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, “The thousand jobs weren’t supposed to happen all at once, they were scaled out over five years.”
The 3.9 million square foot fulfilment center officially opened to employees on May 11th to begin operation. Inside they pick, pack, and ship smaller customer items such as books, electronics, small household goods, and toys.
An Amazon presence in New York means more than just the great jobs with full benefits provided. The company has also brought thousands of jobs in construction and services as the entire facility was built by local construction in Central new York.
Amazon offers highly competitive pay, benefits that begin on the first day of employment, and training programs for in-demand jobs. On top of Amazon’s national average starting wage of over $18 per hour, the company offers full-time employees industry-leading benefits from day one of employment, including full health, vision and dental insurance, 401(k) with 50 percent company match and up to 20 weeks paid parental leave.
Site leader Irfaan Hafeez says the opportunities don’t end there, as the company is known for hiring and promoting within.
“We have a robust system of also internally promoting,” he said, “A lot of our management has started at that tier 1 employee level and, kind f grown, as well.”
But why choose Central New York of all places for this massive facility?
“If you look at where amazon is, we didn’t have a great footprint to get to the northeast,” said Hafeez.
“This was the perfect opportunity to connect a lot of channels through the various highway systems and gives that opportunity to get faster delivery to our customer.”
