In West Humboldt Park, Amazon is on its way — “primed,” it might say — to heed demand for holiday gifts plus the year-round drumbeat of impulse buying. Workers scurry to pack, code and route orders drawing on the inventory of 500,000 smaller items — think of toys, pet food, electronics, beauty products and holiday décor. With a supporting cast of robots, the operation at 1260 N.
Kostner Ave. hums and rolls for 23 hours a day. “We spend the entire year preparing for the holiday season,” Operations Manager Taeshia Hall said.
For Amazon, it’s a season of triumph. But getting there at a location built to satisfy the same-day delivery appetite from the Chicago area had its glitches. The center has been open for a year and made its first deliveries in October 2023.
The pandemic delayed the project around a year and groups from and close to West Humboldt Park staged protests tied to Amazon , although sometimes with contradictory aims. Some wanted to block Amazon’s arrival entirely, citing truck traffic and noise and accusing the company of providing low-quality jobs. Others demanded that Amazon agree to hire mostly nearby residents.
The protests are long gone and Amazon has met its own hiring projections, employing 500 people. Hall said most are full-time and that she has taken on 200 people since late October. Some were hired for the seasonal rush, a company spokeswoman said, but those assignments can stretch for months and become permanent.
Hall said associates.
