Amazon says its new sorting facility in Anchorage will launch before the new year. It’ll be the tech giant’s first sorting facility in Alaska.
The facility will be housed in the vacant Midtown warehouse formerly used by Sears.
An Amazon spokeswoman described the facility as a “last stop before packages arrive at customers’ doorsteps.” There, employees will sort packages and load them onto delivery vehicles.
Jenna Wright is interim CEO for the Anchorage Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit that works to promote Anchorage’s businesses and economy. She said she expects that the sorting facility will shorten shipping times for more than just Anchorage customers.
“I believe that rural Alaska will be particularly positively benefited by having a sorting facility here in Anchorage,” Wright said. “As we get more and more broadband access out across the state, we’ve seen an uptick in the amount of online spending that’s happening.”
Amazon officials say the facility will also help ease the state’s supply chain disruptions.
Wright said her organization is also excited for the high-paying jobs Amazon is expected to bring to Anchorage.
Right now, she said, the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a big employer in the city’s transportation and warehouse industry, and she anticipates that Amazon will offer comparable wages.
“They pay really well, at an average of $93,000, which is well above Anchorage’s average annual salary of $68,000,” Wright said. “So this Amazon facility would certainly contribute to that sector with new jobs.”
Amazon officials said they couldn’t yet give an estimate of how many employees will work at the facility. Wright said it’ll likely be at least 100, based on the number of parking spaces the company is adding. According to Amazon’s permit application filed with the state, it will expand the parking lot to include 126 spaces for workers and 103 spaces for delivery vans.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
