Amazon has officially opened its first robotics fulfilment centre in Australia at Kemps Creek in Sydney’s west with (former) Prime Minister Scott Morrison, NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, and Mayor of Penrith City, Tricia Hitchen cutting the ribbon on the new facility.
The new robotics site is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest warehouse ever built in Australia, spanning 200,000 square metres across four levels and delivering 1,500 jobs to the local community. It can house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon.com.au including electronics, jewelry, books, pantry items and toys.
Since Amazon started serving local customers four years ago, the promise has been to offer a great selection, competitive prices, convenience and fast delivery, and the opening of the Robotics FC delivers on that promise, according to Amazon Australia country manager, Janet Menzies.
“The opening represents our continued investment in Australian technology and infrastructure, in customer experience, and in Australian people. This investment has totalled more than $1.9 billion in the past year alone,” she said.
“This is the biggest warehouse in Australia, spread across 200,000 square meters, around the land size of Taronga Zoo or 24 rugby league fields. It’s our second fulfillment centre in western Sydney and our sixth in Australia. It’s home to our most advanced robotics technology and enables us to house up to 20 million items in this facility ready for fast delivery across the country.
“It also means 1,500 jobs for western Sydney. Most of the jobs are permanent paths with leading pay and comprehensive benefits including subsidised health care. We’re hiring now and we’re excited to work with universities and colleges in the region to provide those career opportunities for locals.
“Our fulfillment centres also support 11,000 Australian businesses and those include third party sellers who use Amazon to store and ship their products, and we’re incredibly proud to enable them to achieve their dreams. So, this is an investment in Australia. It’s an investment in jobs in New South Wales, and the people of western Sydney.”
NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres said the opening represents a milestone for the future of western Sydney.
“This is one of the most advanced technology investments we’ve seen in our community creating 1,500 jobs closer to home. My team at Investment NSW has worked closely with Amazon to facilitate engagement with local government, working closely with Transport for NSW for better access to public transport,” he said.
“The catalyst for much of this was the Commonwealth government’s investment in a new western Sydney airport and today’s opening is a clear reflection of the sustained policy, investment and engagement in this community.”
(Former) Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the partnership between federal, state and local governments is focused on the same goal – more jobs.
“These jobs are being created because we decided that we wanted to unlock the economic opportunities of western Sydney. This is exactly what we wanted to see happen – large companies like Amazon decide they want to come and invest right here and create these opportunities,” he said.
“This infrastructure brings some 11,000 small businesses together and gives them the opportunity to connect to customers across Australia, and well beyond that in other parts of the world. It is advanced technology putting the Australian economy into the new digital age, and you can see this on display in the centre.”