Hiring at the new Amazon distribution center near Cayce will increase in mid-summer after installation of more automated packaging equipment, company officials said Monday.
“That’s when the next spurt will come,” plant manager John Petta said.
The pledge comes as the online retailer announced plans Monday to open a small distribution center in Spartanburg County.
File: Packages head for addressing and shipping at Amazon.com's shipping facility in Lexington County in December 2011.
- Tim Dominick /tdominick@thestate.com
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Full-time employment at the Midlands center is now about 550, with 1,250 temporary workers added to handle sales during the Christmas holidays, officials said.
Many future employees are likely to come from the ranks of seasonal workers whose performance was good, Petta said.
Amazon is “well on our way” to meet its commitment of 2,000 full-time workers at the center near I-26 and I-77 for the end of 2013, company vice-president Paul Misener told members of the Columbia Rotary Club.
That total is required as part of a deal the company made with the Legislature in June in exchange for an exemption through 2015 on collection of sales taxes on merchandise sales to state residents.
Many of those hired had been jobless for more than a year, Misener said. More than 9,000 people applied for jobs at the Cayce area center, Lexington County officials have said.
Amazon is among major retailers asking Congress to settle a battle and allow taxation of merchandise sold online nationwide.
It agreed to the plan after it received the exemption in South Carolina.
Amazon is looking to become more than a retailer, Misener said Monday.
It is starting to offer other merchants — mainly the ones for which it sells products — sales and financial management services, he said.
Many of those are partners who sell their products through Amazon, he said. Petta didn’t know how many do so with the facility near Cayce.
Doing that is part of Amazon’s goal of constant innovation to stay ahead of rivals, Misener said.
Employees are learning “high-tech at its best” in order to respond quickly to unexpected demand for products and services, he said.
The opening of another center in Spartanburg County by fall is part of company plans to expand in South Carolina, Misener said.
No jobs commitment was included, but political and business leaders there expect about 400 will be created.
As was the case for the Midlands center, Amazon will receive state and local incentives in Spartanburg County. The package includes property tax breaks and road improvements.
Amazon has added five new distribution centers in the Southeast during the past year.
South Carolina can expect “a long-term lasting relationship” with the company, Misener said.
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