Amazon to open two more fulfillment centers in New Jersey

Amazon announced Wednesday morning that it plans to open two more fulfillment centers in New Jersey; the move will add more than 2,000 full-time jobs to the state.The fulfillment centers will be located in Florence and Carteret, Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s vice president of North America fulfillment operations, said in a news release.

“We place our fulfillment centers close to customers to provide the fastest possible delivery times, and this expansion in New Jersey is directly tied to our increasing customer demand,” Chauhan said in the release.

The locations, Chauhan said, will bring the company’s total number of employees in the state to approximately 7,500, making it one of the state’s largest 20 employers.

“We currently have more than 5,500 full-time jobs in the state and we are excited about the opportunity to add 2,000 new full-time positions,” Chauhan said in the release.

Amazon currently operates a fulfillment center in Carteret with more than 500 full-time associates, according to the release. This new fulfillment center, the second in the borough, will be more than 800,000 square feet and employ more than 1,500 full-time associates. The more than 600,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Florence will employ more than 500 full-time associates when opened.

The announcement was applauded by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

“More fulfillment centers mean more jobs for New Jersey, and, while we celebrate the sheer number of jobs being created, we also want to recognize the impact that these investments will have on their new communities,” she said in the news release. “The employees who will work with Amazon will form the fabric of their neighborhoods.

“As Amazon continues to show its commitment to the towns of Florence and Carteret, we will continue to demonstrate our intent to help these communities grow and thrive as well.”