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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Amazon Delivers 820,000-Square-Foot Fulfillment Center to Wilmington, Delaware

05/20/2020
Amazon plans to create more than 1,000 full-time jobs and launch a state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Wilmington, Delaware. The company will lease a built-to-suit building, developed by Dermody Properties, at the site of the former General Motors' Wilmington assembly plant, which closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2019.

Amazon's new operations facility will span more than 820,000 square feet on the ground floor. Employees at the site will work alongside innovative Amazon robotics technology to pick, pack and ship smaller customer items such as books, electronics, small household goods and toys. In addition, Amazon will hire for roles in human resources, operations management, safety, security, finance and information technology.

According to state officials, Amazon first launched operations in New Castle in 1997 with its first fulfillment center in the network and launched its second Delaware fulfillment center in Middletown in 2012. The company has now grown to more than 110 fulfillment centers in North America and 185 globally, fulfilling millions of customer orders every day.

"The First State was home to Amazon's first fulfillment center 23 years ago," said Ryan Smith, director of Amazon robotics fulfillment centers in North America. "I'm proud to see the continued growth and investment in Delaware with our newest fulfillment center in Wilmington.”

“Amazon has found an outstanding, passionate workforce, strong state and local support and incredible customers across the state. We look forward to creating 1,000 new, full-time jobs with industry leading pay and benefits, starting on day one, in a safe, innovative and quality work environment. I know first-hand the opportunity and support network we provide employees for long-term, career success, and I'm excited to provide that same opportunity for thousands of current and future Amazonians," Smith said.

"This is Dermody Properties' first venture in Delaware," Jeffrey A. Zygler, a partner at Dermody Properties said, "Delaware officials and regulatory agencies have been very responsive to our needs, which is paramount in projects of this magnitude. Their collaborative approach and commitment allowed us to attract Amazon to our project."

"Amazon already employs more than 2,500 Delawareans, and we welcome additional investment that will result in more jobs for Delaware families, especially at vacant industrial sites that are ideal for redevelopment," said Delaware Governor John Carney. "Delaware has a world-class workforce, a central location and a quality of life that is second to none. For those reasons and more, Delaware is a great place for businesses of all sizes to grow and create jobs."

"The Amazon location announcement says something about the state of our economy, but also about the spirit of our people in New Castle County," said County Executive Matt Meyer. "When you have one of our largest commercial sites, one that hasn't created any jobs, barren for more than a decade, it speaks to the neighbors and the community here. Now we're going to have the retail operation of the future, creating more than 1,000 jobs, and we'll have a workforce that will deliver for them."


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