Amazon to hire additional 100,000 to keep up with online shopping surge

A look at Amazon during the COVID-19 crisis

As the world faces the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, so too does the world’s largest retailer, Amazon.

SEATTLE - Amazon is looking to fill another 100,000 part-time and full-time roles across the U.S. and Canada to keep up with a surge of online orders.

The company said Sept. 14 that the new hires will help pack, ship or sort orders.

All Amazon jobs come with “industry-leading pay and competitive benefits,” which include a minimum wage of $15 per hour, health insurance and up to 20 weeks of parental leave, the company said. In some cities, the company is offering sign-on bonuses up to $1,000.

Amazon said the jobs are not related to its typical holiday hiring. Business has been booming at the Seattle-based online retailer, which made a record profit and revenue between April and June as more people turned to it during the pandemic to buy groceries and supplies.

The company said it needs the people at the 100 new warehouses, package sorting centers and other facilities it’s opening this month.

Amazon will also hold a virtual career day on Sept. 16 for job seekers nationwide, looking to fill roughly 33,000 corporate and tech roles at the company.

“COVID-19 continues to affect millions of people across the country, and people are eager for the opportunity to get back to work,” Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement announcing the career day.

“We’ve created more jobs in the U.S. over the past decade than any other company – and we are continuing to hire people from all backgrounds and at all skill levels,” Galetti added.

A record 22 million jobs were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., according to statistics from the Labor Department. Employers have so far added back about half of that number as portions of the economy reopen and companies bring back some workers who were temporarily furloughed.

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.