SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - An Amazon “robotics fulfillment center” will be built in northwest Louisiana, bringing more than 1,000 new jobs to the area with starting pay of $15 an hour, Gov. John Bel Edwards and an Amazon executive said Friday.
The $200 million project was announced at a Shreveport news conference with Mayor Adrian Perkins and others. Officials said construction was already beginning with plans to open by September 2022. “Dirt is moving, construction is under way,” Amazon’s Jessica Breaux said.
Along with $15-an-hour starting wages, benefits will include full medical, vision and dental insurance and a 50% employer-match 401(k) retirement savings plan.
Incentives from the state include a $5 million grant for infrastructure improvement at the site. ”This is the best bargain the state of Louisiana has struck in a very, very long time,” Edwards said.
Breaux said products at the site will be prepared for shipping by employees working with robotic equipment. Packages prepared there will be shipped to other facilities for distribution to customers. The center will be in north Shreveport’s Hunter Industrial Park near Interstates 20, 220 and 49.
The multilevel building will sit on a foundation covering 650,000 square feet (nearly 60,400 square meters), according to statements from the state and Amazon. Employees there will pack and ship smaller customer orders, such as books, toys, electronics and other household items.
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