Amazon to Create 800 New Jobs in Alcoa

Announcements, Community, News, Press Release

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Amazon officials announced today that Amazon will establish a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Alcoa.

The site, which is anticipated to launch in 2022, will create nearly 800 new, full-time jobs with benefits and opportunities to engage with advanced robotics. Amazon employees at the more than 634,812-square-foot pad fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.

“I, along with all the citizens of Blount County, are delighted Amazon made its decision to locate here. The jobs and worldwide recognition it brings are extremely beneficial to this area. We thank Amazon, Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee ECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and our county and city commissioners for tirelessly working together to bring this project to fruition. I, along with the citizens of Blount County, wish them great success and look forward to working with them for many years to come.” – Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell

On top of the company’s industry-leading starting wage from $15, the company offers full-time employees comprehensive benefits including full medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) with 50 percent match starting on day one. The company also offers up to 20 weeks of maternal and parental paid leave and innovative benefits such as Leave Share and Ramp Back, which give new parents flexibility with their growing families.

The Alcoa facility will be Amazon’s third fulfillment center in Tennessee to use innovative robotics technology and the company’s eighth fulfillment center in the Volunteer State. In 2020, Amazon announced it would establish similar fulfillment center operations in Memphis and Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

“Over the past year, Amazon has announced projects in each of Tennessee’s grand divisions, accounting for nearly 3,000 new jobs. As we continue to navigate through the pandemic and reboot our economy, we know our recovery is supported by the success of our Tennessee businesses. We are grateful that Amazon continues to provide jobs to thousands of Tennesseans, and we congratulate the company on its newest fulfillment center in Alcoa.” – Gov. Bill Lee

Amazon currently operates fulfillment and sortation centers in Charleston, Chattanooga, Lebanon, Memphis, Murfreesboro and Nashville. The company is in the midst of building Amazon Nashville, a new downtown office that will bring more than 5,000 tech and corporate jobs to Nashville.

Since 2010, Amazon has invested nearly $9 billion in Tennessee, including infrastructure and compensation to thousands of its employees in the state. Amazon’s investments in Tennessee contributed an additional $8.7 billion into the state’s economy, and using methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Amazon estimates its investments in the state have created an additional 12,700 indirect jobs on top of the company’s direct hires in Tennessee.

Amazon has pledged to invest over $700 million to provide upskilling training for 100,000 U.S. employees for in-demand jobs. Programs will help Amazonians from all backgrounds access training to move into highly-skilled roles across the company’s corporate offices, tech hubs, fulfillment centers, retails stores, and transportation network, or pursue career paths outside of Amazon.

The Blount Partnership is eager to work with Amazon and assist in its job creation and community involvement efforts. Since 2015, the Blount Partnership has brought forth eight major economic development announcements, totaling 3270 jobs and $1.763 billion in capital investment.

“Having Amazon locate in a community has proven to be beneficial for everyone involved, and on behalf of the Blount County Economic Development Board, I’m happy to welcome its leadership to Blount County and East Tennessee. The regional economic impact of an operation like this will be felt almost immediately. We are excited to get this project progressing quickly and look forward to watching it grow.” – Matt Murray, chairman of the Blount County Economic Development Board

Over the last five years, TNECD has supported more than 60 economic development projects in East Tennessee, resulting in approximately 7,400 job commitments and $2.3 billion in capital investment.

All associates will go through hours of safety training and have access to continuing education opportunities through Amazon’s upskilling programs such as Career Choice. In this program, the company will pre-pay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, more than 25,000 employees have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.

To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, visit www.amazondelivers.jobs.

Back to Top