Amazon promised 1,000+ Pasco jobs for massive warehouse two weeks ago. Where are they?
Amazon Inc. confirmed Monday it is adding warehouse positions for its new Pasco facility to its job site this week.
The jobs could appear as early as Friday at amazon.com/jobs, two weeks after its pledge to post the first of the 1,000-plus jobs on offer in Pasco on June 14.
The Seattle e-commerce giant did not explain the delay.
Leigh Anne Gullett, spokeswoman, confirmed that positions at the warehouse near Sacajawea State Park are being added to the system. Job postings for new sites are added in waves, not all at once, she said. The company updates its job site on Fridays.
She recommended people watch the site or sign up to be notified automatically when jobs go live.
Amazon is expected to open the warehouse this summer.
The company and a development partner built two massive warehouses it called Project Oyster and Project Pearl on South Road 40 East near Sacajawea State Park as fulfillment centers to support deliveries to customers.
It paused its warehouse expansion in 2022 and changed up its plans. It opted to retool the warehouse at 1351 S. Road 40 E., aka “Oyster.”
It invested $10 million to convert the building into what it calls an Inbound Cross Dock or IBX. The IBX facilities accept incoming merchandise and process it for the fulfillment centers.
The IBX will employ up to 1,500 people and will open in concert with a third Amazon facility now under construction on Capitol Boulevard north of Pasco’s King City truck stop. The 90,000-square-foot delivery station will employ 150 and will enable speedier deliveries to customers in the Tri-Cities.
No plans have been disclosed regarding the second warehouse, which remains unopened.
Amazon will pay Pasco warehouse workers $18.50 an hour and offer full benefits on the first day of employment, said Derick T. Logan, manager of Launch Partnerships and U.S. Candidate attraction for Amazon’s Workforce staffing arm.
Logan outlined Amazon’s plans for Pasco, including the June 14 start date, in a presentation billed as Amazon’s official kickoff. It was hosted by WorkSource Columbia Basin, the Kennewick office of the state’s employment security department.
Logan said the Pasco facility would open on July 17. The company has already filled several management posts.
Crystal Bright, WorkSource System Coordinator in the Kennewick office, said staff are supporting Amazon job-seekers with Saturday information session. and assistance in filling out online forms.
She walked back the initial schedule, saying jobs were only “tentatively” scheduled to post on June 14.
To date, Amazon and its partners have invested more than $260 million to construct facilities in Pasco.
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.