Pocono News Section

More than 1,100 New Jobs Coming to Hazle Township

More than 1,100 New Jobs Coming to Hazle Township - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 5:36PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 @ 05:36pm EST
HAZLE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY - More than 1,100 new jobs are coming to lower Luzerne County. Amazon. com plans to open a new distribution facility in Hazle Township this July. The online retail giant will call a 600,000 square foot building in the Humboldt Industrial Park home.

"In times when everyone is speaking of recessions and slowing economies, it's great news for this community and this region to hear that we're going to be creating a massive amount of jobs," Joseph Lettiere of Greater Hazleton CanDO, Inc. said.

Lettiere serves as the economic development agency's vice-president of marketing. He says when Amazon. com opens its doors, it will bring an economic boost to the three-thousand acre industrial park.

"This is our largest employer. It will be our largest employer in the park. It's just really our flagship to this community and something we're proud of," Lettiere said.

WBRE News cameras were not allowed inside the building, but renovation work is already underway. DVDs, CDs and books will be shipped from the facility.

"It's difficult when we're dealing with projects like this. We're very excited and can't wait to make a formal announcement. It's nice to be able to talk about it and not have to use code names like we usually have to," Lettiere said.

Amazon. com says besides the 1,100 full-time workers, another 800 part-time workers could be hired during the holiday seasons.