Amazon closes PBI3 Florida fulfillment center, 494 layoffs Sept 17

What happened

Amazon confirmed on July 20, 2026 that it will permanently close PBI3, its fulfillment center in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on September 17, 2026 and lay off 494 workers (Supply Chain Dive, July 20, 2026).

Amazon publicly calls the closure temporary, but the state WARN Act notice was filed under the federal definition of a permanent closure (any shutdown lasting more than 6 months) (TechTimes, July 20, 2026). It is the second permanent Florida FBA closure in three months.

Why it matters

PBI3 anchored Amazon's Southeast last-mile capacity into South Florida ZIP codes. After September 17, inventory targeting those ZIPs re-routes to nodes in Georgia (ATL cluster) and Alabama (BHM6). The mechanical effect: a 1-day slip on delivery promise for a slice of Florida orders, tighter zone density on Prime badge decisions, and a bigger role for Amazon's inbound placement fees when they recompute default splits.

Sellers who lean on FBA for FL-heavy revenue will not see anything in their dashboards until Prime badge starts flickering on high-velocity SKUs. That is the wrong moment to notice. Southeast-heavy sellers should model the shift now, before Q4 volume amplifies whatever slippage happens.

What to change in the next 2 weeks

1. Pull top-10 revenue ASINs by ship-to state. Anything with more than 15% of units going to FL, southern GA or southern AL sits in the re-routing zone.
2. Check Prime delivery promise weekly on those ASINs starting September 10. Any move from 2-day to 3-day is a Featured Offer risk.
3. Model MCF or FBM as a fallback for slower-turn SKUs where an extra transit day costs you the buy box. A Southeast 3PL landed-cost comparison, including the new USPS parcel-mismatch fees, will tell you whether to pre-position outside FBA.
4. Audit inbound placement fees on your next shipment in Nova P&L. Amazon will change its recommended split; the fee delta is the tell.

How Nova helps

• FBA Inventory Tracker - see units by fulfillment center and catch the PBI3 to ATL/BHM6 shift the day Amazon rebalances your stock, not the week after Prime badge slips.
• Live P&L - split contribution margin by SKU with 40+ fee types accounted for, so a placement-fee shift, a Featured Offer slip and an MCF fallback show up as separate lines instead of a blurred hit to total margin.