Amazon Is Closing Projects Across the Country, Idaho Plans Affected
Raise your hand if in the initial weeks of weirdness that the COVID-19 pandemic thrusted upon our lives, you turned to Amazon for some sense of normalcy.
Maybe you used it to order essentials that you didn’t feel comfortable venturing out for. We can’t judge. The idea of touching a gas pump weirded us out for months. Looking back, that seems so silly now.
Maybe you used it to order something for a new hobby you picked up. A yoga mat for your at home workout routine. Needles and yarn for knitting a cozy blanket you’d go on to use while binge watching a new series. A keyboard so that you could be your own piano teacher. Whether you used what you bought or not, there’s no doubt that Amazon appreciated your business.
And that’s why while many of us were trying to figure out the whole work from home thing, Amazon got to work on rapidly expanding their footprint. According to CNBC, the company had nearly doubled its physical size between 2019 and the end of 2021. Unfortunately for the internet giant, the demand for their services and products started to fall off as things inched back to normal. All of a sudden, they realized they didn’t need that much space. That’s why they’ve begun closing, delaying or canceling plans for facilities across the country.
CNBC recently shared a map of the locations affected by these plans. Many of the sites they’re closing are delivery stations which Amazon describes on their website as buildings where “customer orders are prepared for last-mile delivery to customers. Amazon delivery providers enable our fast, everyday shipping.” Delivery centers account for 95% of the closures and 38% of the canceled projects.
14 additional delivery centers were delayed, including one planned for Meridian. CNBC lists the status of the project as “Delivery center delayed opening. Facility completed but startup on hold.” In May 2021, Idaho News reported that the 140,000 square foot facility would open in early 2022 and bring hundreds of jobs to the area.
Boise does have an Amazon “Delivery Station” near the Boise Factory Outlets.