Amazon has opened its new 80,000-square-foot customer service support center in Winchester, Ky., "the first of its kind in the Bluegrass state, creating more than 550 full-time jobs and hundreds of seasonal jobs," LEX-18 reported. Last year, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority offered $10.25 million in business incentives to an Amazon subsidiary, AMZN.wacs Inc., if it opened a $20 million support center in the town. The agency also approved a $250,000 economic development grant agreement for the project.
"It's an exciting day for Winchester, for Clark county, and really it's an exciting day for the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Governor Steve Beshear. "The multi-million-dollar investment in Winchester will help Amazon provide customer service and technical support." The new facility makes Amazon the fifth largest employer in the state's industrial sector.
In a nod perhaps to criticism nationally and internationally in recent years of the company's working conditions, Amazon senior site leader Alex Krueger noted that the facility features "walking trails, a quiet room, a game room with Ping-Pong, pool and Xbox."
