FedEx Ground opening new Cedar Rapids facility later this month

CEDAR RAPIDS — FedEx Ground is looking to hire nearly 300 workers as it prepares to open its massive new automated facility in southwest Cedar Rapids. Many of those workers would stay with the company beyond the holiday season.

The ground delivery subsidiary of FedEx Corp. on Oct. 31 is slated to open its $108.6 million, 480,000-square-foot facility at 1035 Commerce Park Drive SW. It is designed to process up to 15,000 packages per hour, according to a news release. The facility offers technology including automated package sortation systems that the company says offers customers with reliable service more efficiently.

Marc Williams, senior vice president of operations for FedEx Ground, previously said a year after the facility’s opening, its processing is expected to reach 22,000 packages an hour.

“This strategically-located facility in Cedar Rapids incorporates innovative technology and the latest automation and material handling systems to optimize the capacity, speed, efficiency and safety of our operations,” Darin Schmanke, Vice President of Regional Operations for FedEx Ground, said in a statement. “We are excited that customers throughout the Cedar Rapids area will benefit from this investment, and we look forward to providing opportunities to the local workforce and surrounding community.”

The City Council last year approved a 10-year, 50 percent reimbursement of increased taxes to the company. Based on the size of the investment, city officials estimated this will generate $16.3 million in total taxes over 10 years, of which $6.1 million will be rebated.

Cedar Rapids agreed under this deal to make off-site improvements to the roads surrounding the development and seek cooperation from the company with applying for state Revitalize Iowa Sound Economy grant funding.

Under the agreement, the development will create 359 part-time and 75 full-time new jobs, with 35 of those jobs at the state’s high-quality wage threshold at the time of $23.20 an hour. City officials said the estimated budget for payroll to cover workers’ salaries is about $20 million.

Communications specialist Dana Hardek wrote in an email that this facility currently employs about 300 team members and is looking to hire nearly 300 more.

Open jobs include a mix of full- and part-time package handlers with growth opportunities, according to FedEx. More information on available positions at the Cedar Rapids facility or other nearby FedEx Ground locations is available at fedexgroundjobs.com.

The positions offer a range benefits, including holiday pay; medical, dental and vision coverage; and paid parental leave, among others. Workers must be at least 18 years old, but there are no minimum education requirements, according to the company.

FedEx Ground transports nearly 10 million packages a day through approximately 200,000 workers, 700 sortation and distribution facilities and 100,000 motorized vehicles operated by 6,100 locally owned service provider businesses.

The Cedar Rapids facility is one of more than 160 fully-automated stations through which more than 97 percent of daily package volume travels, according to the company.

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