Amazon has hired 100,000 employees due to its spike in demand for e-commerce due to global lockdown restrictions.
On March 16, Amazon announced it would invest over $544 million (US$350 million) globally to increase pay for its teams during the coronavirus pandemic and would hire an additional 100,000 people in full and part-time jobs across its operations network.
Amazon has now filled the 100,000 positions to help meet customer demand and assist existing employees fulfilling orders for essential products.
“We continue to see increased demand as our teams support their communities, and are going to continue to hire, creating an additional 75,000 jobs to help serve customers during this unprecedented time,” the company said in an update last month.
Amazon described its labor requirements as “unprecedented for this time of year,” driving the need to significantly increase hiring.
To draw new employees, the company had said it would add $2 to its minimum $15 per hour to U.S. workers’ wages through April.
Amazon said it expects to spend more than USD $500 million globally to increase wages for workers during the pandemic, up from a previous estimate of USD $350 million.
The additional warehouse workers will focus primarily on stocking and shipping of essential goods.
Last month Amazon said it was struggling to keep products in stock on its online marketplace so the company will be prioritising household staples and medical supplies at its fulfillment centres.
“We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other important products coming into Amazon fulfillment centers so we can more quickly receive, restock, and ship these products to customers,” the company said in an update.
“We’ll continue to invest in safety, pay, and benefits for our teams who are playing an invaluable role in getting items to communities around the world.”