The size of Amazon’s workforce in Delaware has about doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of the state’s fastest-growing employers.
As companies with storied Delaware legacies retract or reconfigure their businesses, most notably DuPont, Amazon has marched ahead, opening several facilities in the past year with at least one more on the way. A report in January found Delaware has the most Amazon warehouse space per capita of the 50 states.
The company had around 7,000 full- and part-time employees in Delaware at the end of 2021 and continues to hire at its largest facility, its robotics fulfillment warehouse at the site of the former General Motors plant on Boxwood Road near Newport.
Built five stories high, the warehouse totals 3.8 million square feet, making it more than three times the size of Amazon’s Middletown fulfillment center and among the largest Amazon warehouses in the country.
BOXWOOD ROAD: 5 things to know about Amazon’s new mega-warehouse on Boxwood Road in Delaware
When the facility opened in September with around 500 employees company representatives said they aimed to reach 1,000 employees by the end of the year. Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly on Thursday said the company has now hired 3,000 full-time employees for its Boxwood Road warehouse.
It is the only Amazon facility in Delaware actively hiring, Kelly said. A majority of the jobs in the warehouse require workers to pack, pick or stow products as they are moved across the facility in large yellow shelves by blue rectangular robots.
Amazon is ramping up another large warehouse that opened off Route 13 near New Castle just before the end of the year. Built at the site of the former Blue Diamond Park, it is a 1.3 million-square-foot fulfillment center.
In mid-January, Amazon launched a facility in Seaford called a delivery station that handles the last stage of delivery to customers. Located on Dulaney Street, the warehouse was previously a DuPont shipping hub. Amazon’s logo is affixed to a warehouse in the Delaware Logistics Park at Route 7 and Route 72 in Red Lion, but the facility has yet to open. Kelly said it is not completed and there is no timetable for its opening. It will also be a delivery station.
Amazon on Thursday announced it is paying for front-line employees to attend the University of Delaware, Wilmington University and Delaware Technical Community College as part of a nationwide expansion of its “Career Choice” program, which offers employees skill-development and education opportunities.
It’s the latest of several benefits rolled out by Amazon as it has filled positions for its cavernous new facilities amid a historically tight labor market. Last fall, the company offered signing bonuses of up to $3,000. It regularly touts its average starting wage, which is now $18 per hour.
The program supports those pursuing a bachelor’s degree or industry certifications, and has partners who provide high school completion and GED preparation, college preparation courses and English language training.
Employees can have Amazon pay their college tuition after they’ve worked for the company for 90 days. Amazon will pay tuition directly to the schools.
Nationwide, 750,000 hourly employees will have the opportunity to attend a college or university for free. More than 140 national and local universities have partnered with Amazon.
In addition to the local colleges and universities, Delaware employees can take classes with national nonprofit education providers, including Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University–Global, Western Governors University and National University.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
