Southwest Valley residents struggling to make ends meet in the withering economy will be pleased to hear that about 1,000 jobs will need to be filled in the coming months at two new Goodyear facilities.
Amazon.com is set to start receiving shipments at its 513,000-square-foot fulfillment center at Maricopa County 85 and Cotton Lane within days. Amazon is expected to employ 600 to 800 full-time workers and up to 700 part-time holiday workers at the Goodyear facility, the company's second in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Cancer Treatment Centers of America will open its Western Regional Medical Center near Interstate 10 and Bullard Avenue in January. The center projects it will build its payroll to about 400 employees within three years.
The two new facilities come on the heels of the Macy's fulfillment center that opened in June near Sarival Avenue and Maricopa County 85 in Goodyear. That center will employ about 500 as it reaches its full capacity.
According to Ted Ramirez, director of talent at CTCA's Western Region, the new hospital jobs will be about 70 percent clinical positions. Of the non-clinical positions, Ramirez said "a good portion" of them will be high-paying jobs for applicants with advanced degrees. There will also be many entry-level positions available for the clinic's cafeteria and overnight guest center.
Ramirez said he has spent the past six months recruiting a senior leadership team for the hospital. Efforts will now focus on hiring for managerial and directorial positions as well as nurses, pharmacists and rehab personnel.
CTCA, which has hospitals in Chicago, Philadelphia and Tulsa, Okla., and an outpatient facility in Seattle, administers an integrative method of treatment that gives patients a strong voice in their procedures and combines conventional treatments, such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, with spiritual, psychological and nutritional care. Ramirez said the company seeks employees who understand this model and are prepared to care for patients "the same way you would for your mom, your dad, your brother."
As for Amazon, the Seattle-based company that made $14.4 billion in revenue last year expects to fill 300 jobs by the time its Goodyear fulfillment center sends its first shipments out on Aug. 18. The company has held two job fairs this summer.
"We made offers to over 250 individuals and have more job fairs lined up should we need them," said Patty Smith, director of communications. "We anticipate having 600 employees hired by the year end, and up to 800 next year."
In May, the unemployment rate was 2.4 percent in Goodyear and 3.3 percent in Avondale, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making for a combined total of just over 1,700 unemployed residents in those two cities. The 1,000 new jobs could put a significant dent in that number.
In addition, the new facilities will pump money into the southwest Valley's economy in other ways.
For example, traffic to and from the Amazon center will increase business for local fueling stations.
Most of CTCA's Western Regional patients will come from out of state - the average patient at the hospital chain's existing facilities travels 558 miles to his or her treatment site. Since the Goodyear hospital will have only 24 on-site rooms available when it opens, many of the patients and their families will be staying in area hotels.
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