Amazon plans to add 100,000 seasonal workers in holiday hiring blitz
(CNN) — In preparation for holiday shopping, Amazon is adding 100,000 seasonal jobs.
The e-commerce giant is looking to fill both part-time and full-time roles, and the jobs span across all skill levels, according to a press release from the company. The jobs offer “a path to a longer-term career, or can simply provide extra income and flexibility during the holiday season,” Amazon said.
This isn’t Amazon’s first hiring boost this year. Beginning in March, the company hired 175,000 temporary employees to keep up with high demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon later stated it would keep 70% of those employees permanently. In September, Amazon announced plans to hire an additional 100,000 employees across its operations in the United States and Canada. Last year, it announced it would bring on 200,000 temporary workers for the holiday season.
The seasonal hiring news comes as consumers start buzzing about holiday shopping. Deloitte predicts that e-commerce sales will increase by 25% to 35% this year compared to last.
“We are confident in our ability to serve customers this holiday season,” Amazon said in a statement. “We have spent billions this year adding new last mile and transportation capacity, and are putting more selection in fulfillment centers closer to customers, which is possible because of the sophisticated and integrated network we’ve been building for over 20 years.”
But Amazon’s in-house delivery service might struggle to handle all of its additional shipments this holiday season. “It will become a crisis if people ignore the warning to order early,” said Satish Jindel, the president of ShipMatrix, a software provider that works with parcel shippers.
In mid-October, CNN Business spoke to 10 Amazon warehouse employees about working during Prime Day and the holiday season. Some workers expressed concerns about the ability to follow social distancing guidelines and potentially being reprimanded if they’re not able to do so. Others shared that they were stressed in anticipation of the extra work that might be ahead.