Amazon unveils new fulfillment center in Missouri City, Texas

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Dec 8, 2020

Amazon has opened its latest fulfillment center in Missouri City, Texas, marking its first fulfillment center in the city. 

The one million square-foot center, which the e-commerce giant said is expected to launch in 2021, will create over 500 new full-time jobs. Once opened, the center's Amazon associates will work to pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment, or rugs, the company said. 

“We’re excited to be expanding our network of operations in Missouri City,” said Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment. 

“We are grateful for the strong support we’ve received from local and state leaders as we broaden our footprint throughout Texas. Every day at Amazon, incredible employees come together to deliver magical experiences for customers and we look forward to creating over 500 jobs for the local community, with industry-leading pay and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.”

Employees of the center will be offered a minimum wage of $15 per-hour, and full-time employees will be offered comprehensive benefits including full medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) with 50% match starting on day one. 

"We are looking forward to this new business model, which focuses on customer service and expands the economy as this is another partnership that will build on our commercial tax base, helping to ease the property tax burden on residents,” said Missouri City mayor, Yolanda Ford.

“Expanding the economic base is a citizen and City Council priority, and this new Amazon center helps to achieve that goal. It’s just another step in moving Missouri City’s economy forward into the future.”

Since 2010, Amazon has created more than 43,000 jobs in Texas and invested more than $16.9 billion across the state, including infrastructure and compensation to its employees, the company said. In addition, Amazon's investments have contributed more than $18.8 billion in GDP to the Texas economy and have helped create over 49,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s direct hires.

The new center won't open in time for this holiday season, which Amazon has been otherwise heavily preparing for, as pandemic restrictions that have been keeping shoppers at home cause demand to skyrocket. In late October, the company announced a new round of 100,000 temporary hires ahead of the holiday season. 

That round brought Amazon's number of total new hires this year up to a whopping 400,000, with numbers ticking up to handle the surge in online shopping caused by the pandemic. Prior to October, the company hired 33,000 new employees in September, 75,000 in April and 100,000 in March.