Ross Stores Picks Southeast Bakersfield for a $500 Million Distribution Center

Published: September 21, 2026 | By LocalJobPage Team

BAKERSFIELD, CA — The biggest hiring headline in town this month is about a building that does not exist yet. Ross Stores has picked a stretch of dirt at Mount Vernon Avenue and East Belle Terrace for a 1.75 million square foot distribution center. Nobody can apply there today, and why not matters more than the headline does.

Ross Stores will build a $500 million distribution center in southeast Bakersfield, a project the city manager calls the largest job generating development sited here in decades. Construction starts in 2027. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and where to apply for Ross warehouse work today.

Need work this week? Skip to the Kern County warehouse job links and start searching now →

📍 At a Glance

Company	Ross Stores, Inc. (Ross Dress for Less, dd's DISCOUNTS)
Announced	September 16, 2026
Site	Mount Vernon Avenue at East Belle Terrace, southeast Bakersfield
Size	1.75 million square feet, about $500 million invested
Timeline	Construction expected 2027, opening reported as 2031 or 2032
Hiring now	No Bakersfield openings. Nearest Ross DC: 2801 Zachary Avenue, Shafter

What Ross Is Actually Building

Ross already knows Kern County. Its Shafter center has fed Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS stores across the West for years from the Highway 99 warehouse belt. This would be the tenth center in that network and the first inside Bakersfield city limits, on ground marketed for years as the 58 Logistics Center. The pitch there was always that the site sits surrounded by people who could get to work in ten minutes, unlike the big boxes out in Shafter and Mettler. City Manager Christian Clegg called it "the largest job generating project sited in Bakersfield in decades."

⚠️ Read This Before You Update Your Resume

Two job numbers are circulating and they do not measure the same thing. Coverage of the announcement put the project at nearly 1,000 jobs, tied to the finished facility by one outlet and to construction by another. The Bakersfield Californian separately reported that two Ross subsidiaries won $40 million in state tax credits for committing to 200 Bakersfield employees at an average wage of $61,313 through 2030. No breakdown of construction trades versus permanent headcount exists.

So we are not going to tell you a thousand people are getting hired here. What is settled is narrower and still real: the building is enormous, the money is committed, and the earliest anyone puts a box on a conveyor is around 2031.

💼 The Ross Jobs You Can Apply For Today

The Shafter center at 2801 Zachary Avenue is open and recruiting, half an hour up Highway 99.

Hourly warehouse roles go through staffing partners, not Ross itself. Adecco runs an onsite operation in Shafter at (661) 634-2134, weekdays 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, and DMSI Staffing recruits first and second shift there per an undated flyer from America's Job Center of Kern: resume and two forms of ID, in person. Call (661) 336-6710 first.
Salaried and technical roles are posted by Ross on its supply chain careers page: maintenance, inventory control, loss prevention, DC management. Over half its DC supervisors came up internally, Ross says, which is the argument for taking an hourly shift first.

On pay, California's minimum wage is $16.90 an hour as of January 1, 2026, and neither Bakersfield nor Kern County adds a local rate, so the state floor applies at every address in the metro, set by where the work is performed. Any Kern warehouse listing advertising less is stale; some still show $16.50. The state Department of Industrial Relations publishes the current rate.

🔎 Where to Aim Right Now

Kern County's warehouse corridor did not wait for Ross. Start here:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ross hiring in Bakersfield right now?

Not for the new center. No Bakersfield positions tied to the project are posted and construction is not expected until 2027. Ross does recruit on an ongoing basis in Shafter.

How many jobs will it create?

Published figures do not agree on what they count. The announcement was reported as nearly 1,000 jobs, tied to construction by one outlet and the finished facility by another, while the state tax credit deal reportedly commits Ross to 200 employees.

Where is it going, and when does it open?

Southeast Bakersfield, near Mount Vernon Avenue and East Belle Terrace. No street number has been published. Construction is expected in 2027, opening in 2031 or 2032. Projects this size move, so treat those years as intent.

How do I get hired at the Shafter center?

Hourly roles run through staffing partners: Adecco onsite at (661) 634-2134, and DMSI Staffing for first and second shift, which asks for a resume and two forms of ID in person.

Five Years Out, and a Shift Open This Week

Create your free LocalJobPage profile, turn on alerts for Kern County warehouse openings, or browse every job posted in Bakersfield right now.

Employers: hiring warehouse, driving or maintenance staff in Bakersfield, Shafter or Wasco while everyone reads about 2031? Post your openings on LocalJobPage Bakersfield and reach workers searching today.