Amazon looks to build warehouse at Silverdome site, hire 1,500 workers

E-commerce giant Amazon is expected to build a distribution center at a cost of $250 million on the site of the former Pontiac Silverdome, demolished in 2017. Pontiac officials say it would bring more than 1,500 jobs.

The plans were revealed during a September 18 meeting of the Pontiac Planning Division, which, the Detroit News reports, “approved a special-exemption permit for the site to be used as a warehouse, distribution and fulfillment campus.”

Crain’s Detroit Business provided details about the size and scope of the complex. Renderings showed a five-story fulfillment center spanning 3.5 million square feet and a one-story deliver center around 200,000 square feet. There would also be a total of 2,150 parking spots between the two buildings.

This would be the first Amazon location in the nation that has both a fulfillment and distribution center.

Pontiac representatives said that Amazon plans to hire 1,500 full-time workers making $15 an hour, with the potential to hire 500 more full-time workers during busy periods. The center would also support 140 employees making salaries of $60,000 and up a year.

It’s expected to be completed by 2021.

Amazon, which is the second largest employer in the United States, has faced numerous criticisms of its distribution and fulfillment centers. Employees have complained of unsafe working conditions and a stressful, never-ending push for efficiency. Despite the $15 and hour wage, Amazon employees still make an average of 15 percent less than their counterparts in similar fields.

The warehouses also add to traffic congestion, resulting in more pollution and traffic accidents.