Amazon Is Hiring A Further 100,000 People To Keep Up With Pandemic-Induced Demand
by Isabel TogohTopline
Amazon, bolstered by boosted sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, is hiring another 100,000 people in the U.S. and Canada to stay on top of demand, the e-commerce giant announced on Monday.
Key Facts
Full and part-time positions have opened up across 100 new operations sites opening this month, which include “fulfillment centers, delivery stations, sortation centers,” among other sites.
It comes as the company has already announced tens of thousands of jobs this year alone, with 100,000 in March and 75,000 in April, while earlier this month, Amazon opened up 33,000 jobs in its corporate and tech divisions.
The company’s vice president of global customer fulfillment, Alicia Boler Davis, added in an interview with Reuters that the company will introduce automation in its new buildings, although the technology is designed to work with employees.
Key Background
As the coronavirus pandemic has seen everyday life ground to a standstill, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has prospered from serving homebound shoppers with the last few months marking the best in its 26-year history. In July, Amazon posted record second-quarter earnings of $5.2 billion, with sales up 40% over last year to nearly $90 billion, although it saw a 13% fall in revenue from its physical stores. The company’s hiring spree over the past year reflects its need to keep up with the surge in demand from homebound shoppers. But the company and CEO Jeff Bezos have come under fire from existing and former employees, who allege the company failed to adequately protect warehouse workers from the health and economic risks of Covid-19.
Big Number
560,000. That’s how many people Amazon employs worldwide, according to the company’s blog.
Tangent
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos topped Forbes’ list of 400 richest Americans for the third year in a row, with a net worth of $183.8 billion as of Monday morning. Earlier this year, Bezos, who holds an 11.2% stake in Amazon, became the first person to surpass a net worth of more than $200 billion late last month.