Tour: Amazon fulfillment center on Albuquerque’s West Side

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Wednesday, Amazon facility leaders gave a tour inside the new fulfillment center on Albuquerque’s West Side – also known as ABQ-1.

Company representatives revealed the location is the first of a new generation of facilities that are built around Amazon’s intricate sorting and packing technology. 

“We are actually the newest generation of fulfillment technology. So we’re the first fulfillment center to launch with the technology that you saw here,” said Dan Monson, assistant general manager of ABQ-1. 

Amazon representatives say at full speed, the facility can process up to 10 units per second. 

“Our number one goal here is to be as efficient as possible to deliver for our customers. That’s the number one priority,” Monson said. 

The fulfillment center houses more than 40 million different products – including items from 8,700 New Mexico businesses. Representatives say the facility is mid-sized for Amazon’s standards, but still big enough to offer 1-day shipping for most of the Albuquerque metro. 

“The more fulfillment centers that we build, the more inventory we can get into key areas of the country, which is, which is our goal, to get that one-day shipping to every single corner of the nation. That’s really where we fit in, as an FC here in New Mexico,” Monson said.

Representatives say the facility employs nearly 3,000 workers – most of which are from New Mexico. 

Monsoon said with wages starting at $15.50/hour, it was not hard to find workers. 

“One thing I can say confidently is that ABQ-1 has had no problem hiring, the reception in the community among the workforce has been incredible,” he said. 

Amazon says a second fulfillment center in Los Lunas is already under construction. That facility will primarily handle larger packages. Representatives say it’s too early to say when that facility might open.