Through October, the online retailer has added 427,300 employees this year, the New York Times reports. “It’s hiring like mad,” a labor historian at the University of California-Santa Barbara said. “No American company has hired so many workers so quickly.”
Worldwide, Amazon now has 1.25 million global employees – not including the additional 100,000 seasonal hires – nearly double the company’s 647,000 global employees at this time in 2019. At the pace the retailer is moving, it is on track to becoming the world’s largest private employer within the next two years.
All Amazon positions have a $15-per-hour minimum wage, and all full-time workers have access to health insurance, a 401k plan, 20 weeks paid parental leave, and other benefits. The company also launched subsidized child care during the pandemic in May, reports Fox News.
Online sales and the coronavirus
Amazon, as well as Walmart, Target, and other online retailers, have managed to successfully navigate the above-average online orders due to the pandemic, and with the holiday season, it will become a challenge to meet consumer demands.
This means that not only will consumers order items online, but products will be flying off virtual shelves faster, and delivery services may become scarce. FedEx and United Parcel Service are already preparing for an influx of more deliveries of parcels due to the pandemic and the holiday season.
To meet the demand this holiday season, the tech giant is adding warehouse jobs, delivery drivers, and even tech jobs, The company has also opened more than 75 new fulfillment centers, sort centers, regional air hubs, and delivery stations in the U.S. and Canada.
“Offering jobs with industry-leading pay and great health care, including to entry-level and front-line employees, is even more meaningful in a time like this,” says CEO Jeff Bezos.
Amazon announced Thursday it will pay out $500 million in employee bonuses next month: $300 for full-time workers and $150 for part-timers.
