Amazon confirmed Friday that the opening of a 140,000-square-foot delivery center in Slidell has been delayed, although the company did not say when the facility will open or when it will start hiring.
A company spokesperson said those dates will announced at a later time. Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer said a company representative has told him Amazon still anticipates opening the center in the first quarter of 2023.
The company had said previously that it anticipated opening in 2022.
Shreveport center also delayed
The Slidell facility is the second in Louisiana to experience delays. A much larger facility in Shreveport, known as a fulfillment center, was slated to open this September but will be pushed back by a year, according to news outlets there.
Another Amazon fulfillment center is under construction at the former site of the Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge.
When asked about the Slidell location, the Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the schedule had changed.
“We look forward to launching our new facility in Slidell, providing many great jobs to the area, with a starting wage of at least $15/hour or more and comprehensive benefits from day one," Daniel Martin said in an email. "It’s common for us to adjust launch timetables based on capacity needs across the network."
Martin was quoted using nearly identical language by Shreveport television station KTBS last month concerning the fulfillment center there.
Supply chain issues
Like Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, Cromer attributed the delay to supply chain disruptions. Cromer said that Amazon changed its workflow and that has required a change in equipment, which is taking the company a longer time to get.
But national medial outlets are reporting that Amazon, which expanded its warehouse capacity as business and profits went up during the pandemic, has too much warehouse space now that demand has slowed.
Chris Masingill, executive director of St. Tammany Corporation, the parish's economic development agency, said Friday that the delay is not surprising considering what is going on with the supply chain.
Amazon, unlike some other companies in the logistics and distribution center sector, has the ability to ramp up quickly and to stop quickly if it sees a change consumer behavior, Masingill said.
The type of center the e-commerce giant is building in Slidell is the final stopping point for packages before they are delivered to the customer. Amazon had plans to put as many as many as 1,000 last-stop centers in suburban areas nationwide, according to national reporting last year. The Slidell center will be the third such center in Louisiana.
Cromer hailed the project as a major economic development win for the city when it was announced last year and said it would bring between 200 and 450 jobs.
Construction of the the building, located at 1914 Town Center Parkway near the intersection with Old Spanish Trail, is complete.