SUFFOLK, Va. - Governor Ralph Northam, local officials and Amazon representatives made a big announcement Tuesday morning.
Gov. Northam said two Amazon facilities are coming to Chesapeake and Suffolk. They will create 1,500 new full-time jobs.
A new 650,000 square foot processing center is coming to Chesapeake, housing 500 jobs and a multi-story robotics fulfillment center is coming to Suffolk housing 1,000 jobs, Northam said.
He said the relationship between Virginia and Amazon has been important, adding “I can’t say enough good things about the relationship.”
Northam said about 70% of the investment comes back to Virginia's economy for affordable housing, transportation and in the workforce.
Amazon’s Vice President of Workforce Development, Ardine Williams said Amazon is creating great new jobs, with industry leading pay and benefits starting on day one. Amazon is also investing in the long-term success of its employees and workforce development for Virginians across the state through its innovative Career Choice program.
Amazon first launched its Virginia fulfillment operations in 2006 with a fulfillment center in Sterling. Since then, the company has grown its robust operations network to include more than 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations in Ashland, Chester, Clear Brook (Frederick County), Petersburg (Dinwiddie County), Richmond, Springfield, and Sterling. In addition to the company’s Arlington headquarters, Amazon also has 13 Whole Foods Market locations across the state and three Prime Now Hubs in Virginia Beach, Richmond, and Springfield.
Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $34 billion in Virginia through its local fulfillment center and cloud infrastructure, research facilities, and compensation to thousands of employees. Amazon’s investments in Virginia contributed an additional $11 billion into the economy and, using methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the company estimates its investments in the state have created an additional 40,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s 10,000 direct hires.
The announcement happened at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday in Suffolk.
