Amazon.com will generate more than 1,500 full-time jobs in an area where double-digit unemployment has created a need for opportunities and income.
“Those jobs are going where the region needs them most,” said Candace Moody, vice president of communications for CareerSource Northeast Florida.
The city, in reviewing and approving incentives for the positions in April, said unemployment in some areas near the North Jacksonville site exceeds 15 percent.
“It’s going to have a tremendous effect on the Northside,” Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP, said Wednesday.
“It will have an overall effect on people’s lives and their lifestyles,” he said.
Rumlin said the location is convenient, too. The 12900 Pecan Park Road site under development is just north of Interstate 295 and off of International Airport Boulevard. It is south of Jacksonville International Airport.
“Folks are going to be able to get decent jobs. That means more money will flow into the economy in this area, folks will be able to buy homes and do other things with their families,” Rumlin said.
He said the project also is a big deal for the city and said it’s typical that such developments spin off more construction. That leads to the need for additional services and jobs.
JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot said the city, JAX Chamber, North Jacksonville area pastors, CareerSource and others have been discussing how to provide training opportunities to help identify and prepare candidates to qualify for the jobs.
“The mayor has made a strong commitment to prepare and execute the programs needed to get those jobs,” Mallot said.
The chamber calls the news the largest single jobs announcement in Jacksonville’s history. Seattle-based Amazon.com announced the jobs and the more than 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center Wednesday morning.
Of those jobs, 500 will make an average $50,000, which Mallot expects will be management, operations and technology positions.
He anticipates the bulk of the jobs will pay $12-$15 per hour. That equates to at least $25,000 a year to start.
“There are a lot of folks out there that need employment and these jobs don’t need a college education,” he said.
Amazon.com said in addition to competitive wages, full-time employees receive comprehensive benefits starting immediately that include medical, dental and vision insurance as well as 401k and company stock awards.
It also offers a tuition program that pre-pays up to 95 percent for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.com.
“Their goal is to help people be successful,” Mallot said.
Amazon.com did not announce an opening date for the center, but the jobs must be created by December 2019 to quality for the incentives.
Mallot anticipates the center will be up and running for the 2017 holiday season. Hiring would take place at least several months prior to that.
In addition to the permanent jobs, the center could need thousands more for seasonal employment.
Amazon.com spokewoman DeAnn Baxter said while the company has not announced a timeline for the Jacksonville facility, “we expect to move quickly.” Site work has begun.
Baxter encourages candidates to visit amazondelivers.jobs for information.
Moody invites interested job-seekers to email [email protected] and she will collect names to share with Amazon.com.
She said CareerSource works with JAXUSA and will offer its assistance for the company’s job recruiting and hiring process.
Mallot said the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is developing ways to help get workers to and from the site.
A city project summary said the city and JTA are discussing transportation options and programs to handle the large number of employees that will be needed at the site daily.
Those options include a dedicated bus stop near the site and bus routes that will serve some of the distressed areas of the city with the highest unemployment rates.
Mallot said all those involved in the project “are working together to make this as smooth and successful as it can be.”
***
The JAXUSA Partnership says Amazon.com is the single largest job announcement in the city’s history. Here is its list of the other large announcements. Many of the companies have since added more jobs.
1,500: Amazon.com,2016
1,200: Citi, 1998
1,200: Bank of America, 1997
1,000: Deutsche Bank. 2008
1,000: Fidelity Investments, 2006
1,000; Prudential, 1997
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466