Malik Thornton, 25, coordinates the affinity groups program at the Amazon Hazle Township facility. Thornton gave a tour of the 700,000 square-foot facility on Tuesday.
                                 Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader

Malik Thornton, 25, coordinates the affinity groups program at the Amazon Hazle Township facility. Thornton gave a tour of the 700,000 square-foot facility on Tuesday.

Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader

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<p>Malik Thornton, 25, coordinates the affinity groups program at the Amazon Hazle Township facility. Thornton gave a tour of the 700,000 square-foot facility on Tuesday that included an explanation of the facility-wide display celebrating Black History Month. At right is Stan Weitoish, general manager.</p>
                                 <p>Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader</p>

Malik Thornton, 25, coordinates the affinity groups program at the Amazon Hazle Township facility. Thornton gave a tour of the 700,000 square-foot facility on Tuesday that included an explanation of the facility-wide display celebrating Black History Month. At right is Stan Weitoish, general manager.

Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader

HAZLE TWP. — Amazon’s Hazle Township fulfillment center is big — and it’s getting bigger.

The 700,000 square-foot center is Amazon’s only distribution hub in Pennsylvania — this means the facility receives shipments directly from manufacturers, divides them up and then sends them to other fulfillment centers.

One might say the Hazle Township facility — which employs 3,000 “associates” — is a fulfillment center for the other Amazon fulfillment centers.

Stan Weitoish, general manager, said the facility is undergoing “a reboot” that will allow the center to serve 40 Amazon fulfillment centers. It currently serves 17 centers.

“It’s all about speed,” Weitoish said. “We currently process about 90,000 cartons per day. After the expansion is complete, we will be able to handle 180,000 perm day — that’s 1.25 million per week.”

Amazon’s Hazle Township fulfillment center opened in 2008 and the team consists of approximately 3,000 full and part-time employees. Overall, Amazon employs more than 30,000 people in Pennsylvania.

Amazon operates over 40 fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and delivery stations across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, Amazon operates five fulfillment centers and a delivery station. The company is the second largest employer in Luzerne County and the 13th largest in Lackawanna County.

Weitoish said Amazon jobs are great jobs with great benefits. In September 2021, Amazon announced that its national average starting wage for new employees — full-time, part-time and seasonal — is over $18 an hour. Amazon’s full-time employees receive comprehensive benefits, starting on day one, which include health, vision, and dental, 401(k) with 50 percent company match, paid time off, and paid leave.

Amazon’s Career Choice program, which was expanded in 2022, fully funds college tuition, as well as high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for front-line employees — including those who have been at the company for as little as three months, Weitoish said. He said Amazon is also adding three new education programs to provide employees with the opportunity to learn skills within data center maintenance and technology, IT, and user experience and research design.

Weitoish said Amazon is committed to being a good neighbor and partner in the communities in which employees live and work. There are more than 48,000 organizations in Pennsylvania that Amazon customers can support simply by shopping on Amazon Smile. Amazon also supports local communities where its associates live and work through monetary and in-kind donations to nonprofit organizations and public schools. Some examples include donations to local public schools, food banks, and other area nonprofits.

An Amazon presence in Pennsylvania means more than just the jobs provided within these four walls,” said Steve Kelly, Field Communications Manager. “In addition to full-benefit, great jobs inside the building, we’ve brought thousands of jobs in construction and services.”

Since 2010, Kelly said Amazon has invested more than $17 billion in the state through infrastructure investments and compensation to employees.

“Our fulfillment network supports millions of businesses of all sizes worldwide,” Kelly said. “Some of these business are local organizations based right here in Pennsylvania. There are more than 45,000 authors, small and medium-sized businesses, and developers in Pennsylvania growing their businesses and reaching new customers on Amazon products and services.”

Affinity groups play major role

Amazon has 13 affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups, which bring Amazon employees together across businesses and locations around the world.

Affinity groups play an important role in building internal networks for creating a community, advising Amazon business units, leading in service projects, and reaching out to communities where “Amazonians” live and work.

Affinity groups play a particularly important role at the Hazle Township Fulfillment Center. A majority of the front line employees represent minority backgrounds. In fact, the employees at the Hazle Township Fulfillment Center hail from 49 different countries.

Malik Thornton, 25, coordinates the program at the Hazle Township facility.

“One of the core values of affinity groups at this center is celebrating cultural diversity and driving awareness,” Thornton said.

A few of the annual celebrations the groups host are Black History Month, International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Pride Month, Earth Day, Disabilities Awareness Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and many others. Each affinity group honors and celebrates these in unique ways, and partners with local community non-profit organizations to drive awareness and support as well.

In particular, in observation of February’s Black History Month, the Hazle Township Fulfillment Center is hosting a series of events. They include the following:

• Hosting a step show for employees put on by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, a historic Black fraternity.

• Bringing in local Black-owned restaurants to provide snacks and meals to employees.

• Partnering with the local library to do readings of Black authors.

• Hosting a DJ and Karaoke for employees featuring Black artists.

• Presenting a walking museum for associates throughout the building highlighting historical Black leaders, athletes, musicians, and artists.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.