Online giant Amazon plans a huge distribution center in Jackson County, on the northeast edge of metro Atlanta, that will employ more than 500 people.
That will add to the more than 1,500 full-time employees Seattle-based Amazon currently has in Georgia, officials said.
Amazon will lease the recently finished building, according to Jim Shaw, director of economic development for the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as chief executive and president.
The center covers almost 14 acres of land near Braselton and will open later this year, officials said. The announcement validates state economic development policies, said Gov. Nathan Deal, whose office announced the new center jointly with Amazon.
“Amazon’s decision to develop in Jackson County speaks to the strength and vitality of Georgia’s business-friendly environment,” said Deal.
Distribution and warehousing has been a hot sector around metro Atlanta of late, driven partly by online commerce that relies on regional “fulfillment centers.”
Since early May, Georgia’s Department of Economic Development has announced plans for a 300-job distribution and warehouse operation in Gwinnett County by ThredUP; a 110-job logistics and distribution center in Laurens County by Polymer Logistics; a 200-job facility in Atlanta by Keysight Technologies; a 1,000 job plant for Sparta Industries; and a 500-job distribution center in Butts and Spalding Counties by Dollar General.
The number of jobs in warehouse and storage has grown 9 percent during the past five years, according to the most recent government data. The sector accounts for 8.4 percent of the region’s jobs – higher than the national average.
Pay at such centers is generally seen as middling — better than low-wage work in hotels or retail, worse than most white-collar professional jobs.
The average pay in the sector is $16.98 an hour in metro Atlanta, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average for all jobs in the region is $23.76 an hour, the BLS said.
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