Amazon is coming to Salinas. What does that mean for the future?

Agata Popęda here, thinking about Amazon and its future in the context of the company’s distribution center coming to Salinas. My thoughts are inspired by a recent article by Erik Chalhoub, which you can find in the current issue of the Weekly. 

The first reaction is, of course: there will be more jobs in the area and some improved roads in Salinas. According to city and business officials, Salinas has constant budget challenges and Amazon’s project will help boost property tax revenue for the city’s coffers. Amazon promises it will provide about 1,500 jobs.

Amazon is also building out the infrastructure of the entire 257-acre Salinas Ag-Industrial Center. In the 14 years since the city council approved the specific plan for this area, no one, except Amazon, has applied to build here, namely because of the estimated $69 million price tag to build out the infrastructure. With Amazon coming in and doing the work, it could pave the way for more businesses to move in, therefore increasing Salinas’ tax revenue.

But having Amazon nearby also means—looking at Arlington, Va., where the company opened one of its headquarters in 2023—a possible jump in the cost of renting and buying a home/apartment in the area. One can claim that a headquarters is not the same as a distribution center, but the truth is we will have many newcomers to compete with in the county’s already pretty gloomy housing situation. 

More traffic—especially trucks—is also not an exciting perspective; Highway 101 can barely handle traffic coming into and through Monterey County already. Expected 258 delivery trucks moving about will not help this reality.

Finally, let’s talk about Amazon itself. The company has changed over the years. It visibly stopped investing in its customer service, becoming less flexible when it comes to quick delivery and evidently losing Prime customers. Amazon is visibly concentrating now on profit.

Jobs are great, but what kind of jobs are coming with a distribution center and how does it feel to be an Amazon worker? In recent years, the media has described many forms of abuse in Amazon factories—from people wearing diapers and skipping bathroom time to keep up with the production rate to exposing workers to ergonomic hazards. The unionization of the Amazon on Staten Island in 2022 was welcomed and celebrated by Amazon workers all over the U.S., which clearly indicates there is a need for general improvement.

Some are worried that these massive warehouse-type operations could become the future of Salinas’ economy and further eat up farmland. Let us know how you feel about it. Would you be interested in an Amazon job?

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