Job ads hint at Amazon plans for express food delivery across Philadelphia region

Amazon appears set to roll out its Prime Now express delivery service across a broad swath of the Philadelphia region, with staff being sought throughout the city and its Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs.

As of Wednesday, the company's jobs website had listings for "Prime Now Associate" positions in Philadelphia; in Rydal and Springhouse, Montgomery County; in Wayne and Concordville, Delaware County; and in Princeton and Cherry Hill, N.J.

Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Now delivers groceries, toys, pet supplies, basic clothing items, and other everyday goods within two hours of being ordered in dozens of cities including New York, Baltimore, and the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Also available for delivery in some markets are meals from area restaurants, similar to services offered by GrubHub and Caviar, and inventory from Whole Foods Market, which Amazon acquired last year.

The service was already expected to begin operating in Philadelphia itself, with Amazon's Prime Now L.L.C. unit receiving a permit in February to operate a food business at a 68,000-square-foot industrial building at 41st and Chestnut Streets in West Philadelphia.

The job descriptions on Amazon's employment site do not disclose precise locations of Prime Now facilities within the towns where the positions are based. An Amazon spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking details about the company's plans for the express service in and around Philadelphia.