Amazon is creating 75,000 jobs as it seeks to keep up with a coronavirus-related surge in demand.
The Seattle-based company today announced that it is seeking 75,000 additional workers for full- and part-time positions. The e-tailer has already hired 100,000 new employees since March 16 amid the spike in demand.
“We know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis, and we welcome anyone out of work to join us at Amazon until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back,” Amazon said in a statement.
Last month, Amazon said it would spend $350 million to hike pay for employees in the U.S. and Canada by $2 an hour through April. Now, the company says it expects to spend more than $500 million in total to boost wages during the pandemic.
Due to its status as an essential retailer, Amazon has continued operating its warehouses, even in the states and localities that have implemented stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The e-tailer has seen a spike in demand for certain products as panicked shoppers load up on household goods and shop online instead of in stores.
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As the e-tail giant boosts hiring and employees’ pay, it continues to work through health-related concerns regarding its workforce.
There have been reports of Amazon warehouse workers testing positive for COVID-19 at more than 10 of facilities in the United States. Just last week, a Bloomberg report indicated that an employee at a Dallas facility visited by CEO Jeff Bezos tested positive for the virus.
Amazon currently offers two weeks of paid sick leave to employees who test positive for COVID-19 or are placed under quarantine. Following that two-week period, workers are able take additional leave without pay through the end of April. Additionally, the e-commerce giant announced two weeks ago it would begin to provide face masks to staff members in all of its warehouses in the United States and Europe, as well as to workers at its Whole Foods stores. It is also using no-contact forehead thermometers at facility entrances and said it would send home anyone who registers a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
