Amazon Building First N.Y. Fulfillment Center--Update

Amazon.com Inc. said it would open a fulfillment center on Staten Island and bring 2,250 full-time jobs to the area, as the online retailer works to speed up delivery times in one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas and throughout the state.

The Staten Island center will be Amazon's first fulfillment center in New York, the company said Wednesday. Employees at the 855,000-square-foot facility -- nearly the size of 15 football fields -- will work alongside robots to find and ship products, including household staples, books and toys, the company said.

Though Amazon has warehouses elsewhere in the state, the new facility to be built by Matrix Development Group in the borough's West Shore section will be the biggest.

Amazon didn't immediately respond to questions about how much the new jobs will pay or whether it will receive state tax credits or other incentives in exchange for locating in New York.

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said in prepared remarks the project will be the biggest job creator in Staten Island's history. A spokeswoman from his office said it was still trying to get details about the jobs from Amazon.

"New York continues to demonstrate that we have the workforce, technology, and the pro-business climate to help companies grow and succeed," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in prepared remarks.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

The Staten Island center, expected to open next year, will be Amazon's first fulfillment center in New York. Employees at the 855,000-square-foot facility -- nearly the size of 15 football fields -- will work alongside robots to find and ship products, including household staples, books and toys, the company said.

Amazon already has offices, as well as smaller facilities, dedicated to its Prime Now same-day delivery service, in New York. The company has also said it is building a warehouse for sorting packages in Buffalo. The Staten Island center, to be built by Matrix Development Group in the borough's West Shore section, will be Amazon's first larger-scale warehouse focused on fulfilling orders in the state.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to disclose the value of tax credits and other incentives company received to build the facility. She also declined to say how much the new jobs will pay, on average, but said the company's fulfillment-center jobs pay 30% more than traditional retail roles.

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said in prepared remarks the project will be the biggest job creator in Staten Island's history. A spokeswoman from his office said Mr. Oddo was still trying to get details about the jobs from Amazon and its arrangement with the state.

Last week, Ohio's tax credit authority approved a $7.8 million job-creation tax credit for the company to build a fulfillment center in the state that could employ 2,000 people. Good Jobs First, a group that is critical of tax credits for corporations, said Amazon has received more than $1 billion of incentives since 2000 from state and local governments to help the company build its warehouses.

"New York continues to demonstrate that we have the workforce, technology, and the pro-business climate to help companies grow and succeed," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in prepared remarks.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 06, 2017 13:00 ET (17:00 GMT)