Amazon executive Holly Sullivan sees more growth potential in Jacksonville

With 10 Amazon facilities in its city limits and an 11th in development, Jacksonville has attracted more investment from the company than many other communities.

And more could be coming, an Amazon executive said Nov. 12 after an appearance at a JAXUSA Partnership luncheon.

"There are a couple of different ways that I think we can continue to grow," said Holly Sullivan, vice president of worldwide economic development for the global retailer.

"One is reinvestment in our current locations – new technologies, new innovations that we can continue to bring into our process.

"In addition to that, Jacksonville is a growing metro area. We're going to base all of our (expansion) decisions on our customers, so as we need it, can we add additional capacity? Absolutely."

Sullivan said Amazon employs about 8,000 people across its sites in Jacksonville, where it maintains its largest presence among Florida cities. Statewide, the company employs 52,000 and has invested $38 billion.

Speaking at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Sullivan said Amazon is attracted to Jacksonville partly because of its logistics assets such as interstates 10 and 95, JaxPort and railways. The availability of talented employees is another draw, she said, as is the city's willingness to support the company's expansion.

"We want to be in communities that want us," she said.

Attendees included Mayor Donna Deegan and City Council members Kevin Carrico, Michael Boylan and Joe Carlucci.

Aundra Wallace, president of the JAXUSA Partnership, led a question-and-answer session with Sullivan. JAXUSA Partnership is the economic development division of the JAX Chamber.

Amazon opened its first two fulfillment centers in September 2017 in Northwest Jacksonville and October 2017 in AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center in West Jacksonville. The city and state supported those centers with $26.7 million in incentives aimed at creating 2,700 jobs.

Since then the company opened another fulfillment center, two sortation centers, a heavy bulk freight center and several delivery stations.

In August 2024, the Daily Record reported that the city was reviewing a permit application for Amazon's proposed $16.6 million build-out of a distribution center at the Commonwealth Logistics Center in West Jacksonville. In July, the city issued a permit for horizontal development at a cost of $100,000.

Sullivan said Amazon's investments in new technology included artificial intelligence tools for such purposes as generating product recommendations and descriptions, and robotics at its centers.

"Those robots are there to make sure our employees have a safer, more efficient way to do their jobs," she said.

"Robots don't have judgment or intuition, unlike our employees, so people are very important in everything we do. But the robots can make their job a bit easier and more efficient, so we're always investing and looking around the corner to what is the next technology we need to be investing in as a group."