Amazon plans to close a fulfillment center in Port St. Lucie this week, but what happens with the employees there is not clear. <\/p>\n
According to a notice the company filed with the state, just under 500 workers will be separated from the company, effective tomorrow and December 17th, with the job cuts permanent. <\/p>\n
But an Amazon spokesperson tells a different story. In a statement, Amber Plunkett says the facility is closing for two years while it is transformed into a larger one that will eventually employ about a thousand people. <\/p>\n
She says the goal is to offer transfers to one of the 30 Amazon facilities across South Florida and that it’s working to transfer roughly 850 employees, a figure significantly higher than the 494 noted in the filing. <\/p>\n
St. Lucie County Commissioner Cathy Townsend says this will hurt local families financially.<\/p>\n
“They’re the fabric of what makes up our community and they live here and they pay taxes here and we need to do what we have to do to make them successful…not be worried about the big box stores. Because this is things that can happen, right?”<\/p>\n