IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Amazon announced Thursday that it plans to open fulfillment centers in Eastvale and Redlands, creating an estimated 2,000 full-time jobs.
The Eastvale facility will cover one million square feet and handle smaller items such as books, electronics and toys, according to a statement.
The Redlands operation will cover 750,000 square feet. Workers there will pack and ship larger goods, including sports equipment and patio furniture.
Amazon, the largest company in the growing e-commerce industry, already operates nine fulfillment centers in California, including six in the Inland Empire: two in San Bernardino and one each in Rialto, Moreno Valley, Redlands and Eastvale.
Amazon also has a fulfillment center under construction in Sacramento, according to the statement.
Locations of the new Eastvale and Redlands projects, as well as a construction timeline and opening dates, were not released.
However, the Eastvale facility will be built on 190 acres near the Cantu-Galleano Ranch Road exit on Interstate 15 and is expected to be operating by the end of the year, Eastvale City Councilman Ike Bootsma said.
“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” said Bootsma, who has served on the council – including a mayoral term – since Eastvale incorporated in 2010. “One of our biggest problems is lack of daytime traffic, and we think [the extra jobs] will help us with that. It’s one of the things that has kept us from getting sit down restaurants. We have a lot of fast-food, but we don’t have any sit down.”
Ultimately, up to 2,500 people could work at Amazon’s second Eastvale facility, Bootsma said.
In a statement, Redlands Mayor Paul Foster called Amazon’s recent expansion in the Inland Empire “remarkable,” and said the city looks forward to working with the company in the future.
Redlands officials could not be reached for further comment.
Amazon’s decision to put two more fulfillment centers in the Inland Empire shows how important logistics is to the region’s economy, Inland Empire economist John Husing said.
“It’s what’s powering hiring in the region, and yet there are some people who want to shut it down completely,” Husing said. “That’s what the environmental lobby wants to do, and that would be insane.”
