Amazon Was Offered Millions In Incentives To Locate In Gwinnett

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Tax incentives and infrastructure improvements offered to lure a new Amazon warehouse to Gwinnett County will cost taxpayers about $19.7 million, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Officials with the Georgia Department of Economic Development released details this week about the incentives offered to the internet giant — nearly six months after the 640,000-square-foot facility was announced.

Incentives offered by the state included a $6.25 million job creation tax credit and about $4.4 million in sales tax savings for machinery, according to the AJC. Gwinnett County — through its economic development arm Partnership Gwinnett — forked over close to $3 million for site preparation, as well as a six-year property tax abatement valued at around $3.6 million.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Kemp declined to comment Monday night, according to the AJC. Representatives from Partnership Gwinnett could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials have touted the project as a $237 million investment by Amazon.

Greg LeRoy is the executive director of Good Jobs First, a left-leaning Washington, D.C., think tank that tracks government subsidies and incentives. In an interview prior to details of the Gwinnett Amazon deal being released, LeRoy argued that “subsidizing an Amazon warehouse makes absolutely no sense anywhere,” according to the AJC.

LeRoy said Amazon’s ever-increasing delivery demands mean it likely would have come to the state anyway; that the jobs it creates are really just “churned” from other retail establishments and warehouses; and that the jobs aren’t desirable despite the company’s $15-an-hour “minimum wage.”

If the warehouse center houses 1,000 workers, Amazon would become one of Gwinnett County’s largest private employers. Most workers will pack and ship customer orders, though the company has previously said employees will also be hired to handle finances, information technology and other roles.

The vast majority of the site is in southern Gwinnett County, though a portion crosses over into neighboring DeKalb. A spokesman for Decide DeKalb, the county’s economic development entity, said it did not offer any incentives toward the Amazon project.

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