Amazon started filling nearly 1,000 jobs at its Chattanooga and Charleston, Tenn., distribution centers Wednesday as the world's largest internet retailer expands its Southeast Tennessee workforce.
"It's based on customer demand," said Amazon spokeswoman Ali Hutchins at the huge Chattanooga fulfillment center at Enterprise South industrial park, where hundreds showed up to apply for jobs.
Hutchins said the job fair the company held in Chattanooga and at about 10 other centers nationally isn't tied to the seasonal hiring Amazon does before Christmas annually to meet the holiday rush.
Amazon already has an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 full-time employees in Chattanooga. Combined with the Bradley County facility and part-time employees, the Seattle-based retailer has close to 4,000 workers in Southeast Tennessee, according to the company.
One job seeker, Rashaundra Murphy, 33, said she was attracted to Amazon by the benefits package. She had worked for the company about five years ago and then tried other jobs, but she was hopeful of catching back on.
"It's fast-paced work," she said. "It's busy, busy, busy work, but I like busy, busy, busy."
In Chattanooga and Charleston, full-time Amazon warehouse jobs start at $11.50 to $12.50 per hour, according to the company.
Full-time posts include medical benefits starting on day one and tuition pre-payment for high- demand careers, according to Amazon. Part-time positions include medical benefits that begin after 90 days and tuition pre-payment.
BY THE NUMBERS
› 10: Miles of conveyor belt in Amazon’s Chattanooga distribution center› 2,500: Number of scanners in the center› 40,000: Number of yellow totes used in the facilitySource: Amazon
The jobs, some of which were offered on the spot, are to pack or sort boxes and help ship them to customers.
Nationally, nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 jobs Amazon was hiring for on Wednesday will be full time, according to the retailer. Most of those jobs will count toward Amazon's previously announced goal of adding 100,000 full-time workers by the middle of next year.
Ernest Edwards, 48, said at the Chattanooga center that he wanted to be part of a growing company such as Amazon. He, too, cited the benefits package as an attraction to him.
"It opens up a lot of opportunities," he said.
State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, said Amazon has exceeded expectations since it was announced in 2010 that the company was building 1 million-square-foot distribution centers in Chattanooga and Charleston, investing $139 million and creating more than 1,400 full-time jobs.
While the state, Chattanooga and Hamilton County provide tax incentives to the company, she said, Amazon is one of the few internet companies to collect sales taxes, which it began doing in Tennessee in 2014.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said the city wants a diverse economy and welcomed the growing Amazon presence.
"We've seen thousands of people employed by Amazon," he said, adding the company has offered a path for a better career.
On Wednesday, Amazon offered job seekers tours of the busy plant that it said is the size of 28 football fields.
Travis Trivett, 27, who is from Alabama but moving to Chattanooga, said Amazon appears to take care of its workers.
"I like the initiatives the company takes for its employees," he said.
However, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents more than 1 million retail workers, on Wednesday said Amazon's growth threatens families and communities.
"While Amazon claims they're creating 50,000 new jobs, they conveniently ignore how their business model, in addition to offering brutal working conditions inside their warehouses, will destroy tens of thousands - if not millions - of retail jobs through automation," union President Marc Perrone said in a statement.
Contact staff writer Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.