Amazon announcement expected to bring thousands of jobs to Hamilton

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Published September 9, 2020 at 2:06 pm

Tech giant Amazon announced on Wednesday (Sept.

Tech giant Amazon announced on Wednesday (Sept. 9) that they will be opening a massive fulfilment facility and delivery station in Hamilton in 2021, which is expected to bring more than 1,500 jobs to the area.

The new 855,000 sq.-ft. facility will be located in Mount Hope right next to John C. Munro Hamilton International airport. A second 55,000 sq.-ft. delivery station in Stoney Creek is also planned.

“The fulfilment centre represents one of the largest local investments in terms of square footage in the City’s history,” a City of Hamilton press release issued Wednesday said.

Workers at the Mount Hope location will work alongside Amazon robotics to pick, pack and ship small items to customers such as books, electronics and toys.

The Stoney Creek facility is where packages are transported to from Amazon fulfilment and sortation centres, and then loaded into vehicles for delivery to customers.

This will be Amazon’s ninth facility in Ontario and its 15th fulfilment centre in Canada.

“Today’s announcement signals to the world that Hamilton remains the top destination in Ontario to grow, innovate and do business,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger in the release.

“I am pleased that this significant investment will create 1,500 full-time jobs for the people of Hamilton.”

In recent years, Hamilton’s airport has become one of the busiest cargo hubs in Canada.

In 2019, HI became Canada’s largest overnight express cargo airport and in 2019, cargo activity steadily grew to represent an increase of 21 per cent over the same three-year period since 2016.

Also last year, international courier DHL broke ground on its new 200,000-sq.-ft. facility at the airport that will be four times the size of their current operations at the airport and will feature a fully automated sort system with a capacity of processing 15,000 packages per hour. It will be DHL’s biggest facility in Canada.

“Hamilton is home to Canada’s busiest overnight express cargo airport, the busiest port on the Canadian Great Lakes and one of the lowest rates of traffic congestion in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area (GTHA),” said Norm Schleehahn, Director, Economic Development, City of Hamilton.

“With Amazon Canada’s announcement of their intent to invest in Hamilton, this solidifies Hamilton’s position as a Canadian goods movement leader, encapsulates the type of investments targeted for the Airport Employment Growth District and illustrates investor confidence from one of the most recognizable brands and the largest e-commerce company in the world.”

In 2017, Hamilton was among hundreds of North American cities to pitch as an ideal location for a second Amazon headquarters.

The City spent close to $500,000 on the bid. Toronto was the only Canadian city shortlisted in the HQ2 search.

Amazon’s second North American headquarters — the first is in Seattle — will be housed in Arlington, Va.

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