Amazon to set up distribution centre in Calgary – creating 750 jobs
-
Share on Facebook
-
Share on Bluesky
-
Share on X
- Copy Link
CALGARY – In Amazon parlance, it’s a “fulfilment centre” – or, a distribution hub where online orders are packed and shipped to customers. The company is partnering with QuadReal Property Group on the development and management of a new fulfilment centre, which will be a 600,000-square-foot facility in Balzac.
The centre, which is expected to open in the fall of 2018, will mean 750 jobs created for the Calgary area. The announcement follows trade missions from Economic Development and Trade (EDT) Minister Deron Bilous and Calgary Economic Development to Seattle. The company was also assisted on the ground by Invest Alberta, an investment attraction service run by EDT.
Mary Moran, President & Chief Executive Officer for Calgary Economic Development sees Amazon as a natural fit for the city.
“The Calgary Region is the major transportation and logistics hub and the leading inland port in Western Canada. The ability for companies to efficiently connect regional and global customers is increasingly important to business and the Calgary Region provides significant advantages, from geographic location to top-quality human resources.”
The distribution centre isn’t the first for Canada. It will join Amazon’s network of centres in Brampton, Mississauga and Milton, in Ontario, and Delta and New Westminster in B.C., which employ over 2,000 full-time staff.
Premier Rachel Notley noted the Amazon investment is one of several important expansions international businesses have made in Alberta this year, including RocketSpace and Swoop in Calgary, Champion Petfoods and Pinnacle in Parkland County, Google in Edmonton and Cavendish Farms in Lethbridge.
Amazon has also received more than 230 proposals from across North America for a second company headquarters. Both Calgary and Edmonton are among those centres vying for the $5-billion investment that would add 50,000 jobs to the economy.
