Amazon, America’s greatest e-commerce sensation opened a $1.5 million air cargo hub in Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. This move is the latest effort by the platform intending to connect to a network of 40 sites and also control all aspects of delivery with the rise in demand for speed and convenience.
Amazon Air Hub operation begin at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). After over four years of planning and construction, the Amazon Air Hub will serve as the central hub for Amazon Air’s U.S. cargo network, enabling rapid transport of customer packages across the country. This $1.5 billion investment in Northern Kentucky will eventually create huge employment opportunity for people from various backgrounds, including load planning, management of package sortation, and robotics technology. All regular, full-time employees will have access to Amazon’s industry-leading wages of up to $19.50 per hour; comprehensive benefits including medical, vision, and dental; and a 401(k) beginning on day one.
“Wonderful communities and diverse teams like this are the heart and soul of our operations,” said Vice President of Amazon Global Air Sarah Rhoads. “We’re excited to get rolling in Northern Kentucky, and we’re thrilled to employ thousands of fantastic people from the area in this next-generation, highly sophisticated facility that will connect our air cargo network for years to come.”
The hub consists of an 800,000-square-foot sortation building located on a 600-acre campus that includes seven buildings, a new ramp for aircraft parking and a multistory vehicle parking structure. The facility is facilitated with the innovative use of robotics technology to assist move and sort packages, including robotic arms and mobile drive units that transport packages across the building—miles of interlinked conveyors, and ergonomic workstations that support a comfortable work environment for employees.
Amazon Air also has regional air hubs at airports in Texas, Puerto Rico and Florida in the U.S., and plans to expand to San Bernardino International Airport in California in 2021.