An Amazon package passes through the hands of at least 15 workers on its way to your Central Pennsylvania doorstep.

The precision needed to achieve Amazon’s promised one-day delivery is accomplished through machine learning, or what a spokesperson called “a big brain” that coordinates movement of packages – and humans – from fulfillment center to delivery route. 

Through an escorted tour on Dec. 11, LNP | LancasterOnline tracked the path that packages follow through three types of Amazon facilities during its busiest season when nearly 1,000 extra regional workers are hired. The tour of the local non-unionized facilities took place before a five-day Teamsters strike by workers and drivers at facilities in New York, Atlanta, San Francisco and Skokie, Illinois. Amazon has challenged the warehouse union in court and it does not recognize drivers as part of a union, contending they are independent contractors. The strike ended Dec. 24. 

Employees are often cross-trained so a water spider can do the job of an unloader, pusher, stower, inductor or pick to buffer. A water spider is someone who gets supplies and tools for someone else to do their job. Pushers direct packages at key points on a conveyor belt. Inductors scan packages as they come into the facility and stamp them. Pick-to-buffer workers pick packages off a conveyor belt and place them in the correct rack. Drivers work for third-party logistics companies. 

WHAT HAPPENS ONCE YOU CLICK ‘BUY’

FIRST STOP:

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Each facility sounds a little different: the fulfillment center bustles beneath a constant beep-beep from hydrogen-powered industrial trucks as workers stow and pick products in 250 four-story aisles while the delivery, or last-mile, warehouse echoes with music selected by employees.

SECOND STOP: 

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With 740,000 workers in 1,000 warehouses and distribution centers, Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the United States. In the last decade as shopping has shifted online, Amazon has risen to become Pennsylvania’s eighth largest employer as of the second quarter of 2024, according to state ranking. The company says it has about 30,000 direct full and part time employees in Pennsylvania. Amazon ranks as York County’s fourth largest and Lancaster County’s 43rd largest employer. The company’s employee counts are not available by county. 

LAST STOP BEFORE DOORSTEP DELIVERY:

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Seasonal wages start at $18 an hour at the multinational e-commerce juggernaut that expects net sales of at least $181.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That would be an increase of at least 7% over 2023.

The journey of an Amazon package in Pa.