Amazon has closed and/or abandoned plans to open dozens of its fulfillment facilities around the United States, according to MWPVL International, Inc., which tracks Amazon’s presence around the world.
At least 66 active or planned US facilities are affected by the company’s efforts to dial back the expansion of its network with cancellations, closures, delays and/or pauses.
The move has impacted 24.6 million square feet of ground-level space for fulfillment centers, delivery stations and other buildings across 28 states, MWPVL International president and founder Marc Wulfraat said in a Sept. 6 email quoted by SupplyChainDive.
Amazon is “still opening up an astonishing amount of space this year – it’s just that they will open less space [than] originally planned,” Wulfraat said.
Nevertheless, dozens of planned facilities will be cancelled, and some existing facilities will be closed, he said, “to reduce both capital expenditures and operational costs.”
The pullback comes in response to a decline in online sales following the skyrocketing rate of internet shopping that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.
At least 42 US facilities are set to be closed and/or plan cancellations, in addition to cancellations of four planned facilities in Spain and one in Germany.
Operations at facilities that are closing will be consolidated another nearby warehouse or offered for sublease.
“We have dozens of fulfillment centers, sortation centers and delivery stations under construction and evolving around the world,” Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said in an email.
“It’s common for us to explore multiple locations simultaneously and adjust timetables based on needs across the network.”
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