Amazon Is Shutting Down PBI3, Its Port St. Lucie Oversize Fulfillment Center, on September 17, 2026 for a Two-Year $200M Robotics Renovation — 494 Layoffs Filed Under WARN
Amazon filed a WARN notice with Florida state and local officials, made public on July 23, 2026, notifying them that 494 employees at its Port St. Lucie fulfillment center will be terminated as the site shuts down for a two-year, roughly $200 million renovation adding advanced robotics and automated conveyor systems. Separations run in two waves — September 17 and December 17, 2026 — and Amazon classified the layoffs as permanent under federal WARN Act rules even though it says it hopes to reopen the facility and bring workers back. The site, known to sellers by the fulfillment center code PBI3 at 7600 LTC Parkway, is one of the region's large-item first-mile facilities, handling oversize goods such as patio furniture, grills, kayaks, pet food, and gym equipment. Construction is expected to run through 2028.
Real-World Impact
494 of roughly 850 workers at the site are covered by the WARN filing — about 58% of the facility's current headcount — split across two separation dates three months apart (September 17 and December 17, 2026).
Key Points
- Amazon's WARN filing, reported July 23, 2026, covers 494 employees at the Port St. Lucie, Florida fulfillment center out of roughly 850 currently working there
- Separations happen in two waves: September 17, 2026 and December 17, 2026 — Amazon classified them as permanent under the federal WARN Act, not a temporary furlough
- The shutdown is for a renovation Amazon values at about $200 million, adding advanced robotics, automated conveyor systems, and other efficiency technology, with construction expected to run for two years through 2028
- The facility is listed in Amazon's fulfillment center network as PBI3, at 7600 LTC Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34986 — sellers will recognize the code from inbound shipment plans
- PBI3 is a large-item site: publicly documented inventory for the location includes oversize goods like patio furniture, grills, kayaks, bags of pet food, and gym equipment
- Amazon says it hopes to transfer affected workers to other South Florida warehouses during the renovation, and is offering four weeks' severance plus transition healthcare to those who leave
- This follows an earlier 2026 closure at Amazon's Homestead, Florida facility, which affected roughly 616 employees beginning July 2, 2026
- Amazon has not published a seller-facing announcement about PBI3 — there is no Seller Central notice stating where PBI3 volume is being redistributed or whether inbound placement recommendations change, so treat routing effects as something to watch rather than a confirmed policy
What You Should Do Now
- 1Search your recent FBA shipment history for the destination code PBI3 — if it appears, you have inventory flowing through the site and should expect that lane to change before September 17
- 2Do not preemptively reroute or create workarounds: Amazon assigns fulfillment center destinations at shipment-plan creation, so the reassignment happens on Amazon's side, not yours
- 3If you sell oversize items into Florida and the Southeast, build a little extra lead time into inbound plans for Q4 — a large-item site leaving the network ahead of peak is worth a buffer, though Amazon has published no delay estimate
- 4Watch your inbound placement fee estimates after mid-September for changes on oversize ASINs, and compare them against your pre-closure baseline before assuming a fee change is program-wide
- 5Treat this as an operations signal, not a policy change — no FBA rule, fee schedule, or program term changed here