‘It’s crunch time and we like that’: Workers, including husband and wife, buzzing at Amazon Fulfillment Center as holidays draw near

There’s no rest for the weary — especially during the holidays — at Amazon’s Fulfillment Center in Shakopee.

Christmas is just around the corner, and the center — the size of 14 football fields, is humming with activity.

"It’s crunch time, and we like that," Site Manager Chad Fifield said. "It’s intense, it’s busy, it’s high energy."

Roughly 1 million packages are shipped out of the Shakopee facility every day, keeping the 1,500 workers there busy.

"So it’s a little different this year because of the COVID," Kayla Spychalla, an Amazon employee for three years, said. "It feels more urgent because of people’s essential needs… so you’re put where people basically need you the most."

But Kayla isn’t the only Spychalla working at the retail giant.

Her husband, Larry, started working there in April 2019 and became a full-time employee that summer.

Not that the couple get to spend much time together, except for the occasional lunch break.

"Out of a 10-hour day, we maybe see each other two whole hours of the day," Kayla explained. "Actually, at work, we’re not with each other at all. Anytime I get to see him, it’s wonderful."

Of course, amidst all that picking, packing and shipping, we had to know more about their love story.

It all started in the spring of 2017.

"We met online and I messaged him first," Kayla recalled.

They arranged to meet in a park a half-mile from her house — and first locked eyes in a parking lot.

"And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that has to be him,’" Kayla smiled. "He is so dorky looking and adorable, and his eyes lit up when he started looking at me, and mine did too, and it was almost love at first sight."

They got married a year later, on Memorial Day 2018, in that same park.

"Oh, I’m very lucky. She’s an amazing woman," Larry said, grinning. "Everything’s looking just up, up, up, for us."

Now, they’re spending a lot of time at the center this December, both working 10-hour days.

And the clock is ticking.

Before Black Friday, the focus was on packages coming in from vendors and businesses.

"Inbound peak," as employees call it.

Now, in the final days before Christmas, the focus is on "outbound peak": getting packages shipped to their final destinations.

"Right now, with the peak season going on, there’s more packages going out than new product coming in," Larry said. "(Checking) through our outbound dock, making sure everything’s put onto the right trucks to go where they need to go."

In the midst of this, Amazon is dealing with the realities of the pandemic.

The company says it’s implemented 150 changes to ensure safety, including mandatory mask-wearing, providing supplies of personal protective equipment, social distancing of employees, temperature screenings, one-way foot traffic and enhanced cleaning of high touch-point areas. All while keeping those packages moving.

"The sheer scale of an Amazon Fulfillment Center, and the amount of customer orders that are processed through this building," Fifield exclaimed, "it really is astounding."

Amazon says, nationwide, it’s hired 200,000 seasonal employees this year, and has added 275,000 regular full-time positions since April.

The company isn’t releasing sales figures. But the National Retail Federation says, nationwide, online and non-store holiday shopping could reach the $218 billion mark, an increase of 30% over last year.

"It’s all hands on deck," Fifield said. "We have fun with it but we absolutely understand the importance of what we do in ensuring that we are successful for our customers."

But shipping deadlines are looming.

Amazon says Wednesday, Dec. 23, will be customers’ last chance for one-day delivery.

Thursday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, is the final day for same-day delivery.

"Do you feel like you’re putting stuff on the conveyer belt, just go, go, go?" Larry was asked.

"At times, yeah, it definitely feels that way," he smiled. "Especially when we’re processing everything. There’s been a lot more online ordering today."