The Seattle-based online retailer Amazon is hiring more than 2,500 full-time hourly employees for an 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center under construction on Beltway 8 in Pinto Business Park. The facility is hiringr= associates to pick, pack and ship customer orders, said Ashley Robinson, Amazon’s regional operations public relations manager. The facility—which is Amazon’s first fulfillment center in the Houston area—is expected to open early this summer. “We are excited to grow our team in the region and better serve customers in Houston,” Robinson said. Along with hiring 2,500 full-time employees, the facility will hire hundreds of employees in managerial and support staff roles, Robinson said. This is a much higher number than the 1,000 full-time employees the company expected to hire last year. Robinson said the facility will utilize Amazon Robotics, which will allow it to have 50 percent more inventory selection compared to a traditional fulfillment center. This also enables the facility to fulfill customer orders within minutes before shipping. The facility will include a warehouse and distribution space on 71 acres at the 971-acre Pinto Business Park site, located at I-45 and Beltway 8.