PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Amazon will lay off close to 500 workers at its Port St. Lucie fulfillment center this week, according to a notice the company filed with the state, even as Amazon says the facility will reopen under new operations in two years.<\/p>\n
Amazon filed the notice July 15 with Florida’s State Trade and Rapid Response Coordinator and sent a copy to Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin, as required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The filing states operations will shut down at Amazon’s PBI3 facility, 7600 LTC Pkwy, effective Thursday, September 17. Roughly 494 employees will be separated from the company, with separations effective September 17 and December 17. Amazon told affected workers about the closure around June 18, according to the filing.<\/p>\n
The job cuts are expected to be permanent, the notice states. Affected employees aren’t represented by a union and don’t have seniority-based “bumping rights” to displace other workers. Amazon says it will pay employees through their separation date, provided they don’t resign early, and will share benefits and severance information separately.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of the affected positions \u2014 466 of the 494 \u2014 are “FC Associate I” roles, the facility’s entry-level warehouse position. The rest include operations managers, HR staff, a safety specialist, an IT support associate and other roles, according to a list attached to the filing.<\/p>\n
Amazon describes the closure differently than the legal notice does. <\/p>\n
In a statement shortly after the notice, company spokesperson Amber Plunkett said, “The Treasure Coast is a great place to live and work and we’re proud of our partnerships across St. Lucie County. These investments and improvements reflect our long-term confidence in the region.”<\/p>\n
On the Port St. Lucie facility specifically, Plunkett said, “We’re always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees, customers, partners, and drivers. As part of that effort, we occasionally convert existing facilities to a new type of facility \u2013 which is what we plan to do here later this year. When these renovations are done, Port St. Lucie will be home to a new fulfilment center that will create long-term benefits for our customers, employees, and the community for many years to come.”<\/p>\n
Amazon notice of layoffs at Port St. Lucie fulfillment centerPDF previewPreview PDF<\/p>\n