The Amazon fulfillment center in Turlock had its official grand opening on Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony that featured several local dignitaries and the promise of more jobs to come.
The 1.1 million-square-foot plant has been in operation since Sept. 25, with nearly 300 employees currently at the MCE1 site — named for the Merced Airport code (all Amazon facilities are identified by the letter-code of a nearby airport).
“Eventually, we’ll be around 1,500 employees,” said Turlock resident Steve Ramirez, senior operations manager. “And we’ll be bringing on 200 to 300 seasonal hires by around the end of November.”
On Thursday, Amazon trotted out a pair of oversized ceremonial scissors and a bright blue ribbon to get things started at 3200 Fulkerth Road.
On hand for the festivities were Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak, Turlock City Manager Reagan Wilson, Chief of Police Jason Hedden, Turlock Chamber of Commerce executive director Gina Blom, Assemblyman Heath Flora (R-Ripon), and representatives for Stanislaus County District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa, Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), and Rep. Josh Harder (D-Turlock).
“To actually see this come to fruition is awesome,” Bublak said of the facility on which construction started in April of 2021. “Today, I actually get to reflect on the decades of future employees that will work here. And, hopefully, those employees will stay here and call Turlock their home.”
The Turlock facility is the second in Stanislaus County — a plant in Patterson that employs about 600 people opened in 2013 — and currently is less than 10 percent stocked. It should be operating at full capacity by mid-February, according to Ramirez. The warehouse is in operation around the clock, seven days a week. The starting wage for a worker at the Turlock facility is just shy of $19 per hour.
Amazon announced earlier this year a partnership with Stanislaus State and Modesto Junior College for the company’s Career Choice program, which makes full-time MCE1 employees eligible for free tuition. Part-time employees can have half their tuition paid.
MCE1 is a classified as a non-sortable fulfillment center, meaning it specializes in heavier, bulkier items, such as exercise equipment, patio furniture, appliances and large bags of pet food.
“We’ve already moved about 200,000 50-pound bags of dog food,” said Ramirez.
Those interested in full-time, part-time or season work at MCEI can visit amazon.com/flexiblejobs. You can also text “AMAZONJOBS” to 77088 to receive texts informing you about jobs in your area.
“I never imagined that I’d ever work in a warehouse,” said Modesto’s Myranda St. John, whose husband also works for the e-commerce behemoth. “But Amazon has provided so much for my husband and me; the opportunity to travel around the country and help open multiple sites and the opportunity to move up within the company.”
