Tamil Nadu emerged as a critical talent hub for Amazon: Company official

Chennai: E-commerce giant Amazon on Tuesday strengthened its presence in Tamil Nadu with the setting up of a new facility, its fourth in the state that can house around 6,000 employees.

Chief Minister M K Stalin formally inaugurated the facility spread across 8.3 lakh sq ft in the city.

Amazon began operations in Tamil Nadu with 50 people in 2005 and currently has over 14,000 employees in the state.

"We are excited to launch our new office here in Chennai. With its uniquely skilled talent that has led some of our best innovations, the state of Tamil Nadu has emerged as a critical talent hub for Amazon in India. The new office is a reaffirmation of our growth and commitment to the state....", Amazon Global Real Estate and Facilities, Director, Vinod Mathews said.

Several technology, engineering, devices and operations teams (of Amazon) operate from the company's offices across Chennai. Amazon also has two offices in Old Mahabalipuram Road (popularly known as the IT Corridor) and another in Saravanampatti, Coimbatore.

The company has four fulfilment centres, three sort centres. The company in 2021 had set up its first device manufacturing unit in Chennai and today 'hundreds of thousands' of Fire TV Stick devices are manufactured in the unity.

The new office building features state-of-the-art infrastructure design and facilities that would operate with significantly lower cost than any conventional building by incorporating internationally recognised building standards.

These standards allow an estimated 23 per cent reduction in annual energy consumption and a 76 per cent reduction in drinking water consumption.

The new office would function in full capacity as and when employees return to work, once the Covid-19 pandemic induced remote working scenario stabilises, the company said.

The office features workstations, dual cabins, private cabins, meeting rooms, board rooms, among others. It has a 24 hour multi-cuisine food court accessible to all employees.

Amazon has implemented a series of preventive health measures for employees, associates and partners at its offices and adheres to the government guidelines to provide a safe work environment, the company said.