Amazon opens new delivery center south of Bradenton and the hiring sign is still out
When Amazon opened its new delivery station at 2200 Tallevast Road in southern Manatee County on Sept. 29, the very first delivery was of a push-and-load three-blade weed whacker head that sold for $11.46.
The online retail giant easily accomplished its goal of opening the 321,244-square-foot distribution center on 55 acres in time for the peak holiday shopping season.
What is still a work in progress is the hiring process.
“The delivery station currently employs more than 100 part-time and full-time associates — and we are still hiring — all making at least $15 per hour,” Amazon spokesman Owen Torres said.
Monday, in a national press release from corporate headquarters in Seattle, Washington, Amazon announced that it has 150,000 seasonal jobs available across the U.S., including 10,500 in Florida and more than 2,000 in the area encompassing Bradenton, Sarasota and Tampa Bay.
The jobs have an average starting pay of $18 per hour, sign-on bonuses up to $3,000 and an additional $3 per hour depending on shifts in many locations, Amazon said.
When Amazon confirmed that it was opening a new facility in the Bradenton area in July, it said that it would offer hundreds of job opportunities as it expanded its last-mile delivery capability.
“Delivery stations enable Amazon Logistics to supplement capacity and flexibility to Amazon’s delivery capabilities to support the growing volume of customer orders,” Torres said previously.
“Delivery stations also offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to build their own business delivering Amazon packages, as well as independent contractors the flexibility to be their own boss, create their own schedule delivering for Amazon Flex,” Torres said in July.
Filling staff vacancies during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge problem for businesses, from mom-and-pops to retail and fast-food restaurants to larger businesses like IMG Academy and local governments.
Just across Tallevast Road from Amazon, Manatee County government has a banner announcing that it is hiring drivers for up to $15 an hour, plus benefits, insurance and retirement.
Opposite Amazon on the east side of U.S. 301, Lansing Building Products was advertising driver and warehouse openings.
For more information about open positions, visit www.amazon.jobs.
This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 12:24 PM.
