SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia’s first Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center is open and operating in Suffolk. The facility adds 1,500 new jobs to Hampton Roads. The facility is filled with hundreds of robots helping workers get the job done.
“The future of the Commonwealth is bright,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The 3.8 million-square-foot facility provides jobs for more than 1,500 full-time employees with competitive pay and benefits starting on day one.
The future includes a partnership with Amazon to expand the company in the Commonwealth. Amazon’s 9th fulfillment operations facility, known as ORF3, is pushing around 200,000 packages a day.
General Manager, Gregory Lum, said the backbone of ORF3 is robots.
“We are actually able to take advantage of our robotics technology to scale our operation and actually hire more employees,” he said.
These human employees work directly with robots throughout the five floors to pick, pack and ship.
In the picking area, robots bring products to the employee area so they can add your home decor or favorite Amazon gadget to your package.
In the packing area, the tape is dispensed to the box length so the employees can add it to keep your packages safe. After everything is in place, the box goes onto a conveyer belt.
Gov. Youngkin himself got a chance to package an Amazon box.
“To see the robotics infrastructure coupled with great talent, I really think this is the future of business,” said Gov. Youngkin. “One of the great privileges of being Governor is to see projects like this Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center come to life. It is a true partnership that stretches across functions, state governments, federal government, and even decades. Amazon reaffirms our commitment to making Suffolk, and the entire Commonwealth, the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
In the shipping area, robots are able to move heavy packages around without straining employees.
“We are allowing this technology to allow us to take away some of the heavy lifting,” Lum said.
Amazon has brought 30,000 full-time employees to the Commonwealth. The company has invested 34 billion dollars in Virginia.
“These are the kind of long-term foundational investments that make the Commonwealth a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Gov. Youngkin said.