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The enormous Amazon building west of Highway 99 has a particular job: handling the awkward, heavy things that do not fit neatly into a small-package warehouse. Exercise equipment, patio furniture, appliances and large bags of pet food were among the products described when Turlock’s fulfillment center opened in 2022. Its name inside Amazon is MCE1.
The facility is at 3200 Fulkerth Road, Turlock. The county’s economic-development strategy records a 1,080,308-square-foot building—usually rounded to 1.1 million in news coverage.
Jump to How it opened · What MCE1 does · West Turlock’s industrial district · Finding a job · College and Career Choice · Orders, returns and visits.
The warehouse was working before the ribbon was cut
Construction began in April 2021. The first shipment arrived on September 25, 2022; the public ribbon-cutting followed on October 20. The Journal’s report from the ceremony described nearly 300 employees on site and plans to grow to about 1,500.
Turlock resident Steve Ramirez, then the senior operations manager, joined Mayor Amy Bublak and Yosemite Community College District Chancellor Henry Yong at the ribbon. The Journal reported that the new operation was already running around the clock.
MCE1’s letters came from the airport code for Merced Regional Airport. The Bee’s October 2022 tour described red hydrogen-powered forklifts, tall storage racks and equipment that raised workers to reach products. It was a different operation from the small-item robotics warehouses often seen in Amazon publicity. A rug or mini-fridge calls for different handling from a paperback or phone charger.
The facility joined an existing Stanislaus County operation. Amazon’s Patterson warehouse opened in 2013, according to the Journal’s review of 2022. Turlock became the company’s second fulfillment center in the county. The towns are close enough to appear together in regional job searches, but a position in Patterson has a different commute from one on Fulkerth Road.
What happens inside MCE1?
Amazon classifies Turlock as a non-sortable fulfillment center, a warehouse category for bulkier goods. MCE1 stores products, picks the items needed for orders, packs them and sends them out. The Bee’s opening report listed patio furniture, grills, mini-fridges and rugs among the items handled here.
Incoming stock is recorded and put into storage. When an order is assigned to the building, workers find the item, check it and prepare it for shipment. The packed order then enters the outbound transportation network.
The delivery station shown above handles a later stage in that network. Amazon’s facility guide distinguishes fulfillment centers, sortation centers and delivery stations. It also describes receive centers, which handle incoming inventory for other warehouses. MCE1 is a fulfillment center.
- Fulfillment: hold products and prepare customer orders.
- Sortation: route packed shipments toward their destinations.
- Delivery: organize the final trip to a home or business.
MCE1’s bulky-goods inventory is one part of Amazon’s network. Smaller items can come from other facilities, even when the customer lives in Turlock.
Why this part of Turlock?
By the time Amazon’s project was announced in 2021, west Turlock already had an industrial district built around food production and distribution. The Bee’s early project report described a roughly 2,600-acre industrial park with employers including Blue Diamond, Foster Farms, U.S. Cold Storage, Sunnyside Farms and California Dairies. Highway 99 put that district beside a major north–south transportation route.
Amazon added a different kind of work to that setting. Blue Diamond processes almonds into ingredients and beverage base. Foster Farms is part of the Valley’s poultry industry. Amazon fulfills orders for a much broader mix of merchandise. All three need places for products to arrive, be handled and leave again, but their production tasks and job requirements differ.
The county strategy places MCE1 behind Dust Bowl Brewing on Fulkerth Road. It discusses the warehouse alongside the area’s food processors and distribution businesses. For Turlock, the practical change was another large employer in a district where utility connections, roads and industrial land had already made substantial buildings possible.
In November 2022, the Journal reported that corporate layoffs would not affect the new Turlock center, which was still building its workforce. Today’s job listings provide the current hiring and pay information.
How to look for an Amazon job in Turlock
There are two useful starting points: Amazon’s hourly hiring site for warehouse and shift work, and Amazon Jobs for the wider range of professional, management and technical roles. Search for Turlock, then read the location in the individual listing. Regional results can include Modesto, Patterson and other facilities.
The official search around Fulkerth Road includes operations and site-management work as well as other nearby positions. Management postings may require supervisory experience and a degree or equivalent experience. Each listing gives the qualifications, physical demands and schedule for that role.
- Confirm the workplace: Turlock in a search filter does not replace the address in the posting.
- Read the shift: compare the start and finish with childcare, classes and transportation.
- Check the appointment: an application or onboarding meeting may have separate instructions.
- Keep the listing: save the job number and the terms you applied for.
Amazon’s hiring FAQ says most hourly warehouse jobs do not require a résumé or interview. The usual process includes an online application, a new-hire appointment, orientation and the first workday. The appointment requires proof of identity and employment eligibility. You can sign up for job alerts if no suitable opening appears.
Amazon’s 2026 pay announcement raises the national minimum starting wage for U.S. full-time core operations employees to $20 an hour, with a companywide hourly average near $24. Those are national figures. The local offer will specify the rate, hours and whether the position is regular or seasonal.
Compare the whole arrangement, not just the hourly number. Ask which benefits apply to the job you are considering, when coverage begins and whether the hours fit your household. Amazon’s benefits information is a starting point, with eligibility varying by role and employment details. For a commute involving buses, the Turlock Transit guide explains the system; check the trip against both ends of your particular shift.
The local college connection: Career Choice
A useful part of this story was in place before MCE1 opened. In March 2022, Stanislaus State announced its Career Choice partnership. Eligible Amazon employees could pursue studies at its Turlock and Stockton campuses with support for tuition, fees and books. Modesto Junior College was also among the local partners reported by the Bee that month.
The university’s announcement introduced Mischelle Martinez, a Patterson resident, mother of two and business major who worked 30 hours a week as an Amazon packer. She had transferred from MJC that January, combining warehouse shifts and parenting with her studies.
Amazon’s current Career Choice explanation says most regular U.S. hourly full-time and part-time employees become eligible after 90 days. The program can support degrees, credentials, high-school equivalency and language learning. It prepays tuition and reimburses eligible book costs within an annual allowance; it does not put a lifetime limit on years of participation while an employee remains eligible.
Before enrolling, use the Career Choice portal to confirm your eligibility, the school and the approved program. Compare the annual benefit with the actual bill. Ask about requesting a work-schedule adjustment for classes, and speak with the school about admission, transfer credits and course timing. Our Stanislaus State guide covers the university’s local history and campus.
Career Choice can also help eligible employees prepare for careers outside Amazon.
Can you pick up a package, return something or tour MCE1?
Use the instructions attached to your order for a pickup or return. A fulfillment-center address is not, by itself, a customer drop-off instruction. Amazon’s return instructions begin in Your Orders: select the item, choose a reason and use one of the offered return methods. The choices depend on the item, seller and reason. Some returns offer a designated box-free, label-free location and a QR code.
For a look at warehouse work, Amazon’s tour page lists facilities offering public visits. Choose a listed location and book through its system. The page also offers other ways to explore Amazon’s operations.
For more on local employers, transportation and living costs, see the Turlock FAQ.
