Amazon will build a new warehouse and distribution center in Findlay Township near Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced Tuesday. The $30 million facility is expected to create 800 new jobs.
The announcement is further evidence that Amazon fell for Pittsburgh during its 2018 search for a second headquarters, said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
“I think there will be continued growth with Amazon in this region because they like being here,” he said. “It was a great experience, they got to learn about Pittsburgh, they got to know about Pittsburgh.”
Pennsylvania is “a great state for business,” Amazon’s vice president of global fulfillment Alicia Boler Davis said in a release. The state's Department of Community and Economic Development promised the company $1.6 million in Job Creation Tax Credits, which will be released after state officials verify the hires.
Eight hundred new jobs is great news for the region, said Fitzgerald.
“High school graduates starting at $15 an hour, with benefits, with healthcare.”
Amazon officials say the company already employs 10,000 people across the commonwealth, including facilities in Aleppo Township and Pittsburgh’s West End.
In 2018, Pittsburgh was selected as one of 20 finalists for Amazon’s search for a second North American headquarters. Ultimately, the company chose to split a promised 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment between Arlington, Va. outside of Washington, D.C. and Long Island City in New York.
The latter location faced strident opposition, and Amazon abandoned its plans there.
