ST. LOUIS — St. Louis is among a dozen metropolitan areas where Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is starting to make deliveries with electric vehicles manufactured by Rivian in Normal, Illinois.
An Amazon spokesperson said he didn't have the number of vehicles on the roads in the St. Louis area. Other cities where the custom electric vehicles are being rolled out include Kansas City, Chicago, Nashville, Baltimore, Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle.
The custom electric vehicles will be in more than 100 cities by the end of this year and 10,000 by 2030, according to the company. Amazon said the move is part of its commitment to create a more sustainable delivery fleet that will help it reach net-zero carbon across its operations by 2040.
Amazon said it has been testing deliveries with Rivian preproduction vehicles since 2021, delivering over 430,000 packages and accumulating over 90,000 miles.
Meanwhile, Amazon has selected Harris-Stowe State University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to join its Career Choice program. It enables Amazon hourly employees to learn new skills to advance at Amazon or elsewhere by providing degree, certification and training opportunities.
In addition to Amazon paying for the full college tuition, the program’s benefits include industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas and GEDs.
“As an (historically Black college and university), we pride ourselves in offering high-quality career-focused academic programs that are accessible and affordable,” LaTonia Collins Smith, Harris-Stowe’s president, said in a statement.
Click here for the full story from the St. Louis Business Journal.
