Mike Roth
Vice President of North American operations, Amazon
» Economy 21st largest in the world
» Population Gain 232,111 new residents in 2013 Expected to break the 20 million mark and displace New York as the 3rd most populous state by 2015
» Consumer Market 4th largest GDP in America
» Visitors 94.3 million in 2013 (up 3% over 2012)
» Visitor Spending $196 million per day on goods and services
Retail giant Amazon will open two fulfillment centers of 1 million square feet each in Florida’s Tampa Bay region in 2014:
• The Ruskin (Hillsborough County) facility will pack and distribute smaller items such as books and CDs.
• The Lakeland (Polk County) facility will handle larger items such as televisions and kayaks.
Before settling on these two sites, the Seattle-based Fortune 500 company had been looking at Florida locations for several years as part of an aggressive strategy to speed up delivery times to customers.
The two facilities will create a combined total of more than 1,000 jobs with hundreds more seasonal positions expected during the holidays.
Amazon is exploring other Florida locations for future regional expansion.
Jobs at Amazon typically pay 30% more than traditional retail jobs.
