Amazon closing San Francisco fast grocery delivery hub
Amazon is shuttering a facility in San Francisco dedicated to same-day delivery of online grocery orders.
In commentary emailed to Chain Store Age, Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin confirmed that the e-tailer plans to close a 38,500-sq.-ft., two-story industrial building it uses to fill same-day delivery orders for grocery items in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.
"We are committed to providing a best-in-class grocery experience for our customers in San Francisco and are continually evaluating our network to make sure it best serves customers," Martin said in the email. "We’ll continue to provide customers with a broad grocery offering, including selection on (the Amazon e-commerce site), Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and through our ever-expanding grocery partnerships. We’re supporting our teams through this process and we’re hugely grateful to their commitment and hard work."
According to the San Francsico Chronicle, the e-tail giant plans to close the facility on Thursday, June 27, 2024. This follows the 2023 closure of a 75,000-sq.-ft. Amazon distribution facility in San Francisco, while a third Amazon facility in the Bayview section of San Francisco is reportedly scheduled to be redeveloped.
As all this is occurring, the e-tailer is seeking city permission to turn an approximately six-acre site it purchased in San Francisco for $200 million in 2020 into a 650,000-sq.-ft.logistics facility.
A WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice filed by the state of California on Thursday, April 25, 2024 indicates that 85 employees currently working at the facility will be affected by the closure.
In a statement provided to the San Francsico Chronicle, an Amazon spokesperson said all affected employees will be offered other roles within the company and offered support if they choose to leave. The e-tailer will continue to fulfill orders previously handled at the Dogpatch facility from other existing sites.
While Amazon may be closing a fast grocery delivery facility, the company is actively promoting its grocery delivery business. Recently, Amazon launched an optional perk for Amazon Prime members and EBT recipients that offers unlimited grocery delivery for a monthly fee, with unlimited one-hour delivery windows.
In February 2024, Amazon introduced a nationwide offering known as “Recurring Reservations” that enables shoppers in nearly 1,300 cities and towns in the U.S. to plan ahead and set up their preferred day and time window for weekly grocery pick-up and delivery up to seven days in advance.
In an April letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy cited the company’s achievement of record-breaking delivery speeds in the first quarter of 2024 by stocking inventory in regional fulfillment centers near last-mile delivery stations and the expansion of same-day facilities for general orders, which he speculated could be used to fulfill grocery orders.
Read more San Francisco Chronicle coverage here.