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Need a job? Amazon is hiring.
The company says it needs to hire 100,000 people – part-time and full-time – across the United States to help keep up with the surge of orders as the coronavirus continues to spread and keeps people at home. And what do people do when they’re at home? They do some online shopping.
The online retailer will temporarily raise pay by $2 an hour through the end of April for hourly employees, which includes warehouse workers, delivery center workers, and Whole Foods grocery store workers. Currently, all make at least $15 an hour. Employees in the United Kingdom and other European countries will also receive a similar pay raise.
The number of orders has put Amazon operations under pressure, and the company warned people that delivery could take longer than the usual two day guaranteed shipping. Additionally, the warehouse has run out of many household supplies and is currently at work to restock those items.
Amazon plans to hire an additional 100,000 workers in the U.S. as consumers rely on deliveries amid the spread of coronavirus https://t.co/e5Nv2pb3yW
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 16, 2020
Last week, Amazon adjusted its time-off policy for hourly workers. Employees could take as much time off as they wanted this month, but they would only be paid if they had earned the time off. The company would also pay hourly workers for up to two weeks if they contracted the virus and needed to be quarantined.
Amazon has nearly 800,000 workers worldwide, making them the largest U.S.-based employer behind Walmart. The full-time and part-time jobs include roles such as delivery drivers and warehouse workers to pack and ship orders for shoppers.
