Amazon's Hiring 1,500 at a New Site in Oak Cliff, the First to Open in Texas During the Pandemic

Amazon is opening another fulfillment center in North Texas, this time in Oak Cliff. The 855,000-square-foot site will be the first to open in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the opening of DAL3, Amazon plans to hire more than 1,500 full-time positions, including receiving inventory, picking, and shipping customer orders.

The new fulfillment center, which the city of Dallas provided $2 million in economic development incentives for, joins 13 others throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.

The announcement comes at a time when, as of last week, the number of unemployment claims in the state reached around 1.8 million.

The hiring process will take place over the next eight weeks, and will primarily focus on integral roles within Amazon’s customer fulfillment operations. For the first two weeks, it will be held at the NYLO Hotel in Las Colinas and will then move to the new center at 1301 Chalk Hill Road.

Amazon said it has been doing everything it can to keep employees and partners as safe as possible during the global health outbreak, and especially in preparation of the new launch. Across most operations, the global retail giant has invested more than $800 million so far on safety measures.

In a statement regarding the new center, Amazon said it remains committed to the health and safety of employees, partners, and customers. Efforts include temperature checks, masks, enhanced cleaning, gloves, sanitation stations, and on-site testing.

“We know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis, and we welcome anyone out of work to join us at Amazon until their past employer can bring them back,” the company said.

That goes for the hiring process, too. While most of the steps are now virtual, some parts of the hiring still must be done in-person. Amazon said candidates might be required to have a temperature check before their appointment, and all will be required to wear a mask that Amazon will provide.

Candidates are asked not to attend if: they have COVID-19 symptoms, they are living with someone that tested positive, they have a temperature of 100.4°F or higher, they have traveled to another country in the last two weeks, or they are in a recommended period of self-isolation.