What you need to know
- As more people stay home to stave off the coronavirus, Amazon is expecting a massive spike in demand.
- The company is now planning on investing $350 million worldwide, and increase its workforce related to warehousing and delivery by up to 100,000 people.
- It'll also raise hourly wages by $2 in the U.S., £2 in the UK, and approximately €2 in the E.U.
With the coronavirus causing havoc across the world, and as companies, organizations, and even entire cities all but shut down, the demand for online shopping and home delivery services is skyrocketing. Amazon, the largest player in this space, is, therefore, expecting a massive surge in demand and plans on hiring as many as 100,000 more people.
That number pertains to just its U.S. workforce. Most of the jobs will be in the company's warehousing and delivery operations, with both part-time and full-time positions available.
We are opening 100,000 new full and part-time positions across the U.S. in our fulfillment centers and delivery network to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon's service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public.
The company further added that it hopes this hiring spree will help mitigate the impact of layoffs in other industries as a result of the virus' spread:
We also know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis. We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.
In addition to offering such people new jobs, the company is also promising to increase the hourly pay of its employees by $2 in the U.S., where it currently pays a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Similarly, U.K. workers will earn £2 more per hour, while E.U. workers will get approximately a €2 per hour increase. The updated pay rate will be in effect through April, at least.
If you'd like to apply for one of these positions, you can check out Amazon's job board here.
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