Amazon announces opening date for southern Ontario fulfilment centre

Amazon Canada will open its 2-million sq. ft. facility between London and St. Thomas on Oct. 1.

In advance of the opening, Amazon said it will start hiring in September with a goal of hiring more than 1,000 regular full-time employees.

The facility is located at the former Ford auto plant site on Colonel Talbot Road in Southwold Township. Amazon is converting it into one of its fulfillment centres named "YXU-1."

"We're thrilled to have Amazon join our community. We are very much looking forward to the positive economic and social impact the opening of the Amazon Fulfilment Centre will bring to our area," said Township of Southwold Mayor Grant Jones. “The revitalization of the site offers new opportunities for our local residents and region for years to come.”

According to the Amazon, the majority of the initial hires will be labourers working on the floor packaging and processing orders. The company also said employees will work alongside the latest advanced Amazon Robotics technology to process up to 750,000 items a day.

“Mostly the robots are automated. So they work from the backend on a computer log-check and they just assist the workforce in getting the products to them so an associate can pick the item from a bin, or take the product away so the associate can stow it into a bin and the robot can take it away,” explained, Himanshu Kalia, Amzaon YXU1 general manager.

Amazon said it expects the facility to ramp up operations early next year — and that includes hiring more workers on top of the initial 1,000 positions this October.

Positions will start at approximately $20 per hour. 

Construction at the site began in July 2021.

— With files from CTV News London's Carlyle Fiset