Thursday’s announcement includes an $11 billion expansion of Amazon Web Services’ existing data center operations in Madison County, expected to create 700 jobs, and a $1 billion project to retrofit the former Delphi Corp. plant in Clinton, expected to create 100 jobs
The move builds on Amazon’s 2024 commitment to spend at least $10 billion in Madison County and its November 2025 announcement of a $3 billion project in Warren County.
Gov. Tate Reeves said Amazon’s decision to increase its capital investment commitments from $10 billion to $25 billion reflects confidence in Mississippi’s approach to economic development and workforce.
“That speaks to the quality of the people of Mississippi,” Reeves told reporters.
Company and state officials also cast the project as a win for education and workforce development. Roger Wehner, director of economic development at Amazon Web Services, said more than 6,500 Mississippians have already trained for careers in IT infrastructure. He also said Amazon's pre-apprenticeship program at Holmes and Hinds community colleges has posted a roughly 70% employment rate.
That workforce pitch has also filtered into local schools. Dwight Luckett, superintendent of the Canton Public School District, said Amazon-backed STEM programming is already shaping how students think about their futures.
“Amazon is preparing our students for opportunities, jobs, if you will, that doesn’t even exist today,” Luckett said. “They don’t even exist today, but they will tomorrow and our students will be prepared.”
Amazon said it is bringing STEM programming to more than 1,200 Canton elementary students. The company also said its “We Build It Better” programs are now operating in Canton, Madison County, Jackson and Vicksburg schools with the capacity to reach about 10,000 students.
“We've been working hard to provide these skilled technical jobs and the training that's required to take them and build jobs that Mississippians can form a life around going forward,” Wehner said.
At the same time, the state’s data center boom has drawn questions about electricity demand, utility costs and how the grid will absorb so much new load.
Addressing water-use concerns Thursday, Wehner said Amazon’s Clinton facility will use no water, its Canton operations will use 100% recycled water and its Ridgeland site will use water roughly 30 days of the year.
Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi’s president and CEO, said legislation passed two years ago required Amazon to pay all incremental costs tied to serving its facilities, including substations and transmission upgrades.
“This was a very tightly coordinated effort,” Fisackerly said. “It was very clear from the governor, the legislature, and the Mississippi Public Service Commission, we only do this deal if customers are protected.”
Fisackerly said Entergy now projects rates will be 16% lower in five years than they otherwise would have been, while additional revenue from AWS will help finance about $300 million in reliability spending. He also said Entergy is building three new power plants, and that Amazon’s business allowed the company to save $1 billion on each of them by accelerating construction timelines.
Amazon officials framed that combination of speed, workforce development and utility coordination as the reason the company doubled down on Mississippi.
“That’s why we continue to grow here and not in other places,” Wehner said.
