Amazon Chooses Canton for One-Million-Square Foot Facility, Where it Will Create 1,000 New Jobs

CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted joined with Amazon, the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States, to announce Amazon's plans to build a new one-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Canton. 

The center will open in 2022 at 3550 Columbus Road NE in Canton and will create 1,000 new jobs, paying a national average starting wage of $18 per hour and providing comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, up to 20 weeks fully paid parental leave, and more for employees and their families. Amazon cited a talented workforce, welcoming community, and highly developed customer service logistics among its reasons for choosing Canton.

"Amazon has been a strong partner in Ohio, investing billions in cloud data centers, advanced distribution facilities, air service infrastructure, and more while creating over 41,000 jobs that provide healthcare and tuition assistance," said Governor DeWine. "We look forward to working with Amazon as it continues to demonstrate its confidence in Ohio's value proposition, premier location, and outstanding talent."

Amazon has invested just over $12 billion in Ohio from 2010 until 2020 while creating more than 41,000 jobs in the state. In the Northeast Ohio Region, Amazon has created more than 5,000 new jobs and has invested more than $3 billion since 2010, establishing multi-state fulfillment centers in North Randall, Euclid, and Akron.

"We're excited to be expanding our network to better serve our customers in Northeast Ohio," said Travis Dorion, regional director of operations at Amazon. "We're grateful for the continued support we've received from state and local leaders as we bring 1,000 good jobs to Canton and contribute to the community through sustainability initiatives and philanthropic partnerships."

Local, regional, and state economic development partners – including the City of Canton, Stark Economic Development Board, Stark County Commissioners, Team NEO and JobsOhio – worked collaboratively with Amazon leadership to secure the highly competitive project by illustrating a compelling business case for locating in Canton. Amazon chose to invest in Canton without taking incentives from the organizations

"Ohio has proven once again that we can compete and win when it comes to attracting major new projects," said Lt. Governor Husted. "Amazon will see that the people of the Canton area are hard-working, and when you give them an opportunity, they will do a great job."

"Amazon understands the 'Ohio Advantage' and consistently invests in its fulfilment operations here because our unique combination of infrastructure, talent and strategic location, and that means more jobs here in our state," said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO. "This new advanced facility is more evidence of Ohio's ongoing momentum! Stark County is getting 1,000 new jobs and a company that has consistently invested in education and charitable causes where they have established distribution operations."

"The Board of Stark County Commissioners is elated with the news of Amazon choosing Stark County," said Bill Smith, president of Stark County Commissioners. "We realize there are many great communities in our region that are competing for national companies to choose them. To have an excellent company like Amazon choose Stark County as one of its hubs is nothing short of exciting! We are confident Stark County will provide the resources, talent, and infrastructure needed to make Canton a great place to call home!"   

"We are thrilled to welcome Amazon to the City of Canton," said Thomas M. Bernabei, mayor of Canton. "We are excited for the many jobs this project will bring, including long term employment for the company and construction jobs for local companies and unions during the very large construction phase.  This is the single largest employer we have brought to the City of Canton in many decades.  We look forward to a strong and lasting relationship with Amazon for years to come." 

"When a company of Amazon's stature continually chooses to invest in the Northeast Ohio region, it is a testament to the vibrancy in our market and collective might of our assets and resources," said Bill Koehler, CEO of Team NEO. "We are grateful for the partnership and for Amazon's confidence in what Northeast Ohio communities bring to the table."

"We welcome Amazon and the competitive jobs they offer to Canton," said Ray Hexamer, CEO and president of the Stark Economic Development Board. "Not only do workers receive a good wage, employees are offered a comprehensive benefit package starting day one."

About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About Team NEO Team NEO is a private, nonprofit economic development organization accelerating business growth and job creation throughout the 18 counties of the Northeast Ohio Region. As the designated JobsOhio Network Partner, we align and amplify local economic development efforts in the region's 18-counties; we conduct research and data analysis to inform local conversations and influence solutions; we market the Northeast Ohio Region; and we work to increase access to jobs, education, and training for the region's 4.3 million people. We do this to build a more vibrant regional economy; one that is more talented, equitable, competitive, innovative, resilient, and prosperous. For more information, visit teamneo.org.

About JobsOhio  JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE JobsOhio

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