Amazon to hire 75,000 workers
Amazon.com says it will expand its hiring spree by an additional 75,000 workers as it shores up its logistics operation to meet demand from people hunkered down at home.
Amazon.com says it will expand its hiring spree by an additional 75,000 workers in the US as the online retailer shores up its logistics operation to meet demand from people hunkered down at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon said on Monday it had already filled 100,000 previously announced temporary and full-time positions. The hiring spree and a temporary $2-an-hour wage boost would likely cost more than $500m, up from a prior estimate of $350m, the company said.
Online shopping has surged, particularly for staples such as toilet paper and groceries, and Amazon and its expansive warehousing and delivery operation have become lifelines for shoppers who can not venture out in person.
Even as some of Amazon’s rival technology giants withdraw earnings guidance or warn about uncertain demand during the pandemic, analysts said Amazon stood to gain from shopping trends brought on by the virus. The company has kept its doors open as statemandated closures of nonessential businesses shutter speciality physical retail storefronts across the US and Europe.
Meanwhile, Amazon is struggling with outbreaks of Covid-19 in its own ranks, with cases at dozens of sites around the US, according to employees and media reports.
THE HIRING SPREE AND A TEMPORARY $2-AN-HOUR WAGE BOOST IS EXPECTED TO COST THE COMPANY MORE THAN $500M
Some workers said Amazon’s hiring has helped the company fill roles of employees who had stopped coming to work out of fear of contracting or spreading the virus. Amazon said employees could stay at home without fear of termination or discipline, and interviews with workers at sites across the country suggest many were not showing up for work.
Amazon also said it had rolled out more intense cleaning and hygiene measures at its facilities, including temperature screenings and reorganised break rooms to encourage social distancing. Still, employees are getting sick as the pandemic spreads, and some have raised concerns that Amazon is not doing enough to keep them safe.
Workers at Amazon warehouses in New York, Michigan and Illinois have staged walkouts demanding the company close their facilities for extended cleaning.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration last week said it was investigating working conditions at an Amazon warehouse in eastern Pennsylvania where at least 21 employees were diagnosed with Covid-19.