Amazon to Shutter Two California Facilities, Affecting More Than 300 Employees

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Amazon will soon close two of its California facilities, state records show.

On September 6, the company filed two notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN Act), noting that the closings will affect about 160 employees at each of the two facilities.

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One of the facilities is a warehouse in West Sacramento, and the other is a facility in Irvine. The West Sacramento warehouse will lay off 159 employees, and the Irvine warehouse will part ways with 162 employees, WARN notice filings show. Amazon plans to find new positions for all the employees affected by the changes.

The West Sacramento facility will close on October 30, and the Irvine facility will close just over a week later, on November 7.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company does not expect the decision to have any impact on its customers and noted that it closes older facilities, opens new sites and upgrades existing facilities according to its business needs at the time.

“We’re always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees, customers, and partners. As part of that effort, we’ve decided not to renew the lease at our facilities in Irvine and West Sacramento, California,” the spokesperson said via email. “We appreciate our team’s hard work and commitment, and we’re supporting impacted employees to find new opportunities within Amazon, including at nearby fulfillment sites.”

Analysis from e-commerce and Fulfilled by Amazon partner AMZ Prep shows Amazon has over 200 fulfillment facilities in California alone—by far the most in any state. For point of reference, AMZ Prep notes Amazon has nearly 90 fulfillment facilities in Texas and just over 60 in Florida.

Despite its enormous footprint in the Golden State, the company has been pulling some operations out this year.

In April, the company announced it would end its Prime Air drone testing in Lockeford, Calif., while also placing a new Prime Air facility in Tolleson, Ariz., outside of Phoenix. Upon closing that facility, Amazon said it planned to offer its employees in Lockeford different positions in nearby Amazon facilities. West Sacramento and Lockeford are about 40 miles—a 45-minute drive—apart. Amazon did not confirm whether any employees from the Lockeford facility were displaced to West Sacramento.

California is not the only state taking the heat when it comes to Amazon closures. In February, Amazon Air announced it would close a cargo-handling facility in San Antonio, Tex., resulting in 65 layoffs for employees of third-party contractor Worldwide Flight Services.

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