Amazon to hire 100,000 to keep up with online shopping surge
Amazon is hiring another 100,000 people to keep up with a surge of online orders
[Sept. 13, 2020: Joseph Pisani]
NEW YORK -- Amazon will hire another 100,000 people to keep up with a surge of online orders.
The company said Monday that the new hires will help pack, ship or sort orders, working in part-time and full-time roles. Amazon said the jobs are not related to its typical holiday hiring.
The Seattle company reported record profit and revenue between April and June as more people turned to it during the pandemic to buy groceries and supplies.
The company already had to hire 175,000 people earlier this year to keep up with the rush of orders, and last week said it had 33,000 corporate and tech jobs it needed to fill.
This time around, Amazon said it needs the people at the 100 new warehouses, package sorting centers and other facilities it's opening this month.
Alicia Boler Davis, who oversees Amazon’s warehouses, said the company is offering $1,000 sign-on bonuses in some cities where it may be harder for it to find workers, such as Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Louisville, Kentucky. Starting pay at Amazon is $15 an hour.
Things are about to get a lot busier at Amazon's warehouses. In addition to the holiday shopping rush, Amazon plans to hold its one of its busiest shopping days, Prime Day, in the fall this year after postponing it from July.
Amazon will be monitoring whether it needs to hire more workers for the holidays, but doesn't have anything to announce yet, Boler Davis said. Last year, it hired 200,000 ahead of the holidays.
One company is already preparing for the spike in orders: UPS said last week that it plans to bring in 100,000 people to help it deliver packages during the holiday season.
This Brighter Side of News post courtesy of AP News at www.APNews.com/.
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Joseph Shavit
Science News Writer, Editor-At-Large and Publisher
Joseph Shavit, based in Los Angeles, is a seasoned science journalist, editor and co-founder of The Brighter Side of News, where he transforms complex discoveries into clear, engaging stories for general readers. With experience at major media groups like Times Mirror and Tribune, he writes with both authority and curiosity. His work spans astronomy, physics, quantum mechanics, climate change, artificial intelligence, health, and medicine. Known for linking breakthroughs to real-world markets, he highlights how research transitions into products and industries that shape daily life.