Amazon will create a new fulfillment centre just south of Edmonton that will operate a 1 million-square-foot facility and create 600 full-time jobs, the Seattle-based ecommerce giant announced on Monday.
The facility will add to Amazon’s existing 1,500 full-time employees working in Alberta, located just north of Calgary. It marks the 11th fulfillment facility in Canada for Amazon, with others being found in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. The new project is being developed by ONE Properties and TD Greystone Asset Management.
The workers at the new plant will retrieve, pack, and ship larger customer items such as outdoor equipment, patio furniture, and bicycles, according to Amazon. They’ll receive “competitive hourly wages, medical, vision and dental coverage, RRSP contribution matching, stock awards, and performance-based bonuses starting on day one.”
The news comes on the same day that Amazon workers in Germany are going on strike to protest for improved work conditions. The Associated Press reports that two distribution centres have gone on strike, with the union representing the workers saying workers receive lower wages than others in Germany’s retail sector.
Amazon’s model of creating 1 million-square-foot fulfillment centres makes its real estate deals very large compared to other such deals in Canada. For example, the Amazon fulfillment plant being created in Caledon, Ont. was twice the size of the next largest lease made in that market during the third quarter of 2018, according to JLL’s Industrial Insight Report for Q3 2018.
The effect that had on the market west of Toronto was to raise the price of the average asking rent by 6.5 per cent. With the high volume of demand for tenants in the area, JLL predicts “similar jumps can be expected in the coming quarters as well.”
The Amazon fulfillment centre near Edmonton may not have the same effect. The JLL Edmonton Industrial Insight Report for Q3 2018 shows that rents in the metro area went up by 9.3 per cent in the quarter, and that vacancy rates fell to 4.5 per cent.
Here’s a complete list of Amazon fulfillment centres across Canada:
- Calgary, Alberta (YYC1)
- Annacis Island, B.C. (YVR2)
- New Westminster (YVR3)
- Tsawwassen, B.C.
- Brampton, Ont. (YYZ3 and YYZ4)
- Caledon, Ont.
- Mississauga, Ont. (YYZ1)
- Milton, Ont. (YYZ2)
- Ottawa (YOW)
On Tuesday, Amazon will be opening a new corporate office in Toronto and Ontario Premier Doug Ford will attend.
