A new “last mile” Amazon distribution center opened for business in September on Allen Road in West Chester Twp. and officials say they are still hiring.
The new 145,000-square foot facility opened on Sept. 21 at the corner of Allen and Cincinnati Dayton roads with the signature little gray trucks lined up by the dozens.
Andre Woodson, a spokesman for the giant online marketplace, said they have already hired hundreds of employees at the “state-of-the-art” delivery station where employees sort packages and load delivery vehicles. They still need more.
“Those vehicles will head out to deliver packages across the greater Cincinnati region,” Woodson said. “It’s really exciting we’re continuing to expand our footprint and obviously this new state-of-the-art delivery station will help maximize delivery times and minimize drivers on the road.”
Woodson said for proprietary reasons he couldn’t go into great detail about what makes the facility state-of-the-art but said employees will have the opportunity to “create new skill sets” with advanced technology.
He said they don’t reveal how many employees they need but they are still hiring new people. The average starting hourly wage is $18 and they offer comprehensive benefits from “day one” for all employees including full-time, part-time and seasonal workers like a full range of insurance, stock options and 401k plans with a 50% company match, they even have estate counseling and financial planning.
“We have some really great caring for families benefits, like our parental leave package on top of some of our other resources for parents who may children with autism, ADHD and developmental disabilities,” he said. “So some pretty cool stuff there.”
In this post-pandemic world, Butler County business leaders have told the Journal-News employees are in the driver’s seat so they have needed to evolve to attract and retain workers and hire enough staff to handle the holidays.
It’s always a push to fill the job postings in time for the holiday shopping rush, but this season comes as workers gain leverage to pick the job they want, while thousands of year-round jobs remain open and hiring competition ramps up.
Woodson said they haven’t had a hard time hiring for the new facility.
At last count prior to Amazon opening, Butler County estimated there are more than 2,000 new jobs opening soon countywide. REDI Cincinnati, an organization that promotes economic development in the region in 2020 reported 732 new jobs were created in the county with a total payroll of $30.3 million.
Woodson said West Chester was an easy pick for a new location.
“There’s a lot of contributors in the thought process on where to place a new facility. One, we’re responding to customer demand and we want to make sure that our facilities are close to customers so we can continue to offer great Prime service and fast shipping speeds,” Woodson said.
“We also strategically look for locations that provide robust public infrastructure, a strong and dedicated workforce and great local support. I think we can continue to find all those things in the greater Cincinnati area.”
