Amazon to hire 6,600 in Tennessee

Amazon announced plans to hire 6,600 full- and part-time workers in Tennessee. That’s on top of the 25,000 jobs the online retailer has created in the state since 2010.
Here’s the release from Amazon:
NASHVILLE – Amazon continues to provide opportunities for full-time and part-time jobs in logistics as it expands its footprint to better serve customers in communities where they live. Today the company announced that it is providing an additional 6,600 local employment opportunities throughout Tennessee on top of the 40,000 corporate and technology jobs recently announced. The roles in fulfillment and transportation offer an average starting wage of more than $18 per hour—and up to $22.50 per hour in some locations. The company also provides full-time employees comprehensive benefits from day one, worth an additional $3.50 per hour. They include health, vision, and dental insurance, 401(k) with 50% company match, up to 20 weeks paid parental leave, and Amazon’s Career Choice program, in which the company will pay full college tuition for its front-line employees as part of $1.2 billion investment to expand education and skills training benefits for its U.S. workforce.
“Before Amazon, I was at a car wash making nine dollars an hour. Then I came to Amazon and I started earning $15 an hour—it was life changing for me,” said Leonardo C, an operations employee at an Amazon fulfillment center in Miami. “This is the first time in my life that I’ve had dental insurance, visual insurance, life insurance. And now that I have it here, I feel really good.”
Hiring for the new roles is already underway. Interested candidates can visit www.amazon.com/apply to learn more and apply.
Tennessee is home to more than 30 Amazon facilities – from delivery stations to a book store. These are investments that can unlock opportunity, helping to revitalize cities and neighborhoods. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Amazon has hired over 450,000 people in the U.S., and one-in-10 hourly employees who have been with the company six months or longer have been promoted. Amazon is now the largest job creator in the U.S. and was recently named by LinkedIn as the No. 1 company where Americans want to work and develop their careers.
“We are proud to offer opportunities for people from a range of backgrounds, from furloughed workers to former military personnel,” said Dave Clark, CEO Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. “We take our responsibility as an employer seriously and want our employees to succeed and thrive. That’s why we offer an average starting wage of over $18 per hour, provide a great range of comprehensive benefits—including health care coverage, parental leave, career training, and ways to save for the future—and have a team of thousands working to build a safe and inclusive work environment. Whether you’re looking for a short-term job to make money for the holidays or a long-term career, you’re welcome here, and we look forward to having you on our team.”
Jobs are available across the state. Interested candidates can see all the regions with open positions at www.amazon.com/apply.
In addition to hiring employees for its operations, Amazon is also supporting the growth of small and medium-sized businesses and helping to create tens of thousands of additional jobs, including many in Tennessee. Amazon works with more than 2,500 Delivery Service Partners, enabling these aspiring entrepreneurs to build their own delivery companies by leveraging Amazon’s experience in operations and logistics. These partners plan to hire more than 50,000 delivery associates by the end of the year. Interested applicants can find out more information here.
To help job seekers around the country, Amazon is hosting a Career Day—America’s biggest recruiting event—on September 15. The free virtual event will offer 20,000 individual career-coaching sessions with Amazon recruiters to help participants land their next job, as well as thousands of additional sessions for Amazon employees looking to transition to higher-paying roles within the company or elsewhere. Attendees will have access to personalized career coaching, insights, advice, and learning opportunities from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and industry-leading experts, and tactical training through coding workshops and breakout sessions. The event is open to all, regardless of their level of experience, professional field, or background. Register for free here.
UPDATE: Amazon to invest $230M, add 5,000 jobs in Nashville

Gov. Bill Haslam announces on Nov. 13, 2018, that Amazon will locate its East Coast logistics hub in Nashville. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal )
Here’s a press release from Amazon outlining its $230 million and adding 5,000 jobs in Nashville.
Amazon’s new Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville
- Downtown Nashville, along the Cumberland River, is the heart of the city just north of the Gulch and is home to urban living, retail, restaurants, entertainment venues, hospitality, open green spaces, and offices. The area is served by commuter rail, more than a dozen bus routes, and is a 15-minute drive to Nashville International Airport.
- As part of Amazon’s investment, Tennessee, Davidson County and the city of Nashville will benefit from 5,000 full-time, high-paying jobs; over $230 million in investment; 1 million square feet of energy-efficient office space; and an estimated incremental tax revenue of more than $1 billion over the next 10 years as a result of Amazon’s investment and job creation.
- Amazon will receive performance-based direct incentives of up to $102 million based on the company creating 5,000 jobs with an average wage of over $150,000 in Nashville. This includes a cash grant for capital expenditures from the state of Tennessee of $65 million based on the company creating 5,000 jobs over the next 7 years, which is equivalent to $13,000 per job; a cash grant from the city of Nashvilleof up to $15 million based on $500 for each job created over the next 7 years; and a job tax credit to offset franchise and excise taxes from the state of Tennessee of $21.7 million based on $4,500 per new job over the next 7 years.
“We want to thank Amazon for its continued investment in the state of Tennessee and are excited about the additional 5,000 corporate jobs they will be creating in Nashville,” said Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee. “It has never been clearer that Tennessee is a great place to do business, and we continue to attract a wide variety of global companies that provide high-paying, quality jobs for our residents.”
“Amazon’s decision to expand its presence in Nashville is a direct result of the talented workforce and strong community we’ve built here,” said Mayor David Briley of Nashville. “These are quality, high-paying jobs that will boost our economy, provide our workers with new opportunities, and show the rest of the world that Nashville is a premiere location for business investment. We thank Amazon for investing in Nashville, and we look forward to welcoming them to this community.”
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8:49 a.m.: Reuters reports that while Nashville might not have made the final cut for Amazon’s second headquarters (that one appears to be a split decision between New York and northern Virginia), the Tennessee capital is in line for a separate East Coast hub of operations. That decision will be good for 5,000 new corporate jobs in the city, according to the news services’ sources.
A press conference for an unspecified “significant economic development announcement” was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Central at the state Capitol.