Amazon to build two operations facilities in Hampton Roads, create 1,500 jobs

Amazon.com Inc. will build two operations facilities in Hampton Roads, creating an expected 1,500 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. Both facilities are anticipated to open in 2021.

The first facility is a multi-story robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk, which will create 1,000 jobs. The second is a 650,000-square-foot processing center in Chesapeake, which will create 500 jobs. 

“With an existing workforce of more than 10,000 full-time employees across our commonwealth, Amazon’s economic impact in Virginia cannot be overstated,” Northam said in a statement. “We celebrate the addition of two new, high-tech facilities in Suffolk and Chesapeake that will positively benefit the entire Hampton Roads region.”

“Today’s announcement makes clear: Amazon is betting big on Virginia,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner added in a statement. “And with our top-notch education system, trained workforce, and business-friendly climate, it’s no wonder why. I’m pleased that with today’s announcement, Amazon will be significantly expanding its footprint into another corner of the commonwealth, bringing 1,500 new jobs to Hampton Roads.”

Amazon first came to Virginia in 2006 when it opened a fulfillment center in Sterling. The e-commerce giant now has 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations in Ashland, Chester, Frederick County, Dinwiddie County, Richmond, Springfield and Sterling. There are also 15 Whole Foods Market (owned by Amazon) locations in the state, as well as three Prime Now hubs in Virginia Beach, Richmond and Springfield. Prime Now hubs house products and groceries that can be delivered on the same day as the order.

“Amazon is creating fulfillment and processing centers of the future, and we are proud that the commonwealth is a thriving hub for the company’s supply chain,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “The new operations in Suffolk and Chesapeake will utilize the Port of Virginia, which is a critical economic development driver for the region and the Commonwealth.”

Meanwhile, construction started earlier this year on Amazon’s $2.5 billion HQ2, which is expected to add 25,000 jobs and more than 8 million square feet of development in Arlington’s Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard areas. Amazon began clearing the site in late January for the first of its two, 22-story towers, demo­lishing an old warehouse at Metropolitan Park near Pentagon City.

In the Hampton Roads projects, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the city of Chesapeake, the city of Suffolk, the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance and the Port of Virginia. Amazon can receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program, and the Virginia Jobs and Investment Program will offer funding and services for training. 

“Amazon is making significant investments throughout Virginia that are helping to drive job growth, fuel the economy and move cargo through The Port of Virginia,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart said in a statement. “This strategic move to build in Chesapeake and Suffolk allows Amazon to be near the mid-Atlantic’s premier global gateway and capitalize on the investments the port is making in efficiency and capacity.”