Amazon’s huge fulfilment centres to speed up TV deliveries

An illustration of Amazon’s upcoming 80,000sq m fulfilment centre that will employ 730 people.

Western Sydney is set to receive a half-a-billion-dollar shot in the arm as tech giants and property developers team up to build fulfilment centres as large as Barangaroo Reserve.

US retail behemoth Amazon plans two new centres, one more than four times the size of the Sydney Opera House, in Horsley Park, about 39km from the Sydney CBD. The second centre will be as large as four-and-a-half rugby league fields.

The new centres will increase the speed at which Amazon can deliver larger tech devices including TVs as well as furniture across Australia.

Amazon said the centres, which it plans to complete and have operational by early 2026, will create about 1000 jobs with “competitive pay”.

The facilities will also include an operations centre, a human resources department, an IT department, engineering teams, health and safety teams and a training centre for new staff and upskilling.

Amazon said it will need just shy of 1100 staff to operate both centres, and it has promised major perks to staff who join the new facilities including subsidised private healthcare and five months of maternity pay.

The largest fulfilment centre will be built on Goodman and Brickworks’ Oakdale East Industrial Estate.

That centre will be 80,000sq m and will be able to store up to 1.6 million of Amazon’s larger products including TVs and furniture.

A second centre, totalling 33,400sq m in size, will be able to store and manage up to 600,000 items including TVs. That centre is being developed on land owned by ESR.

Both centres were leased to Amazon by CBRE.

The availability of Amazon products locally and the speed at which they are delivered will increase significantly following the completion of the two centres, Amazon Australia operations manager Sandra McNeil said.

“Amazon Australia’s investment in two new facilities in Western Sydney will expand our operational footprint in this area which will provide customers with wider selection and faster delivery,” she said.

The new fulfilment centre at Oakdale East Industrial Estate in Horsley Park.

“We’re committed to improving selection and delivery speed as demand continues to grow, as well as being dedicated to giving back to the communities in which we operate. We are proud to be able to provide more local job opportunities and look forward to working with the NSW government to continue our investment in the Western Sydney area.”

Goodman Group chief executive Jason Little said the announcement was the result of months of planning and strategic investment in Sydney’s west.

“We’re not only announcing job creation, but we’re also recognising the result of great collaboration with planning authorities and administrators to boost the Western Sydney economy. Goodman has invested significantly in the area, and this development extends Goodman’s infrastructure spend in the Western Sydney employment area to more than $500m,” he said.

“Most importantly, we’re providing our customer Amazon, with the essential infrastructure it needs to expand and help meet growing consumer needs in Western Sydney and beyond.”

Amazon has spent about $1.5bn developing fulfilment centres in the city’s west, including its first fulfilment centre that it opened in Moorebank in 2018. It also operates a robotics fulfilment centre in Kemps Creek, which opened in 2022, and a logistics site in Regents Park.