E-tailing giant Amazon.com Inc. said yesterday it plans to open a 600,000-square-foot fulfillment and distribution center in Braselton, Ga., about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The facility will be used to pick, pack, and ship larger items that can't go through traditional sortation systems, according to Seattle-based Amazon. The announcement did not mention a launch date, but it will likely be before the upcoming 2016 peak holiday season.

About 500 full-time jobs will be created when the facility opens, Amazon said. The company currently operates three fulfillment and distribution centers in the state.

The addition of Braselton would bring the number of Amazon facilities in the U.S. to 165, according to MWPVL International Inc., a firm that tracks Amazon's physical distribution network. It would mark Amazon's 78th fulfillment and distribution center, according to MWPVL. The others are delivery centers, delivery and sortation centers, and locations handling products shipped through Amazon's "Prime Now" service, which for an annual fee provides subscribers with unlimited two-day deliveries.