Amazon will open a fulfillment center in Livonia and hire 1,000 people to work at the facility, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced.
According to the MEDC, the company will invest nearly $90 million in the project, bringing 1,000 jobs to the area. It is expected to open in October 2017.
"We are thrilled to have Amazon choose Livonia for its biggest presence yet in Michigan," Livonia Mayor Dennis Wright said.
"I'm pumped - we all are. They are spending a lot of money. There is no two ways about it and they've committed millions," Wright says. "We are 20 minutes from Metro airport. Twenty minutes from Ypsilanti. Twenty minutes from downtown."
While he hasn't shopped on Amazon before, the mayor will be their newest customer.
"When that shovel hits the ground. I'm first in the line to buy the shovel from them and then we will put it on Amazon," he says.
"We’re proud to welcome Amazon to Livonia and applaud the collaboration that took place to bring this significant capital investment and new, well-paying jobs to our community,” Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans said in a statement. “Time is everything in today’s global market, and Wayne County was glad to do our part to ensure Amazon has the public infrastructure it needs to support its e-commerce operations.”
The Michigan Strategic Fund also approved a $7.5 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant that will help support Amazon's employee recruitment efforts.
According to the company, Amazon fulfillment centers are "modern, secure facilities with highly automated pick, pack and ship processes to facilitate the safe and timely processing of merchant orders."
