Amazon is hiring 100,000 people for minimum-wage jobs
by CNN(CNN) — Amazon is once again drastically expanding its workforce, announcing Monday that it’s hiring 100,000 new employees to support a surge in online shopping amid the ongoing pandemic.
The jobs, which are in the United States and Canada, are across its operations network including its warehouses, delivery stations and other sites. Pay is roughly minimum wage and begins at $15 per hour with benefits. It’s also offering sign-on bonuses “up to $1,000” in some cities. Amazon is offering a mix of full-time and part-time positions.
Amazon is holding a virtual career day Wednesday to hire for its 33,000 job openings in corporate and tech roles. Employees hired for those corporate jobs will receive an average pay of $150,000, including salary, stock-based compensation and benefits.
Within in recent months, Amazon has announced its intention significantly to staff up. In August, Amazon said it planned to hire 3,500 additional workers in cities across the United States, a move that commits the tech giant to a significant expansion of office space at a time when other tech companies are embracing telecommuting indefinitely.
It also hired 175,000 temporary employees in early months of the pandemic to keep up with unprecedented demand. Amazon said in May that it decided to permanently keep 70% of them.
Amazon has come under criticism from employees for its working conditions. Some employees and applicants recently told CNN Business that the company’s messaging doesn’t always match what they have seen inside the company’s warehouses, and that they remain concerned about crowded hiring events and training sessions, limited access to disinfectant wipes and the company’s overall ability to follow through on its commitments.
In response, Amazon said it has made more than 150 changes to its processes to enhance worker safety including temperature checks.
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