E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) announced Wednesday that it will open up a new distribution center in Auburndale, Florida, which will create an estimated 500 new jobs in the area. Auburndale is located in Polk County, in central Florida.

“We are excited to join the Auburndale community and create more than 500 new, full-time jobs with industry-leading pay and benefits at our newest fulfillment center in the state,” Amazon's vice president of global customer fulfillment Alicia Boler Davis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also called the planned Auburndale facility "a big win for Polk County and our entire state." The facility will offer full-time employees compensation of at least $15 an hour along with comprehensive benefits such as health insurance.

Auburndale Mayor Tim Pospichal said that "Auburndale is pleased to have Amazon join the family of businesses that call our city home."

Amazon currently has 13,500 associates in the state of Florida. Earlier this year the company pulled its plans for a second headquarters in New York City, with Florida Sen. Rick Scott encouraging the company to instead build the facility in Florida. Amazon decided instead for the second headquarters to be located to Arlington, Virginia.

In 2018, Amazon opened up a 2.4-million-square-foot warehouse in Orlando.

As the company continues to rapidly expand, multiple Democrats have criticized Amazon's working conditions for its employees, with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggesting that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' billionaire status could be "predicated on paying people starvation wages and stripping them of the ability to access health care."

Although Amazon defends its health insurance offerings for employees, the company cut some health benefits for employees at its Whole Foods subsidiary earlier this year.

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, and the second-largest private employer in the U.S., behind Walmart.

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