Amazon on Monday, April 6 announced it has hired more than 80,000 employees to meet the surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 4,600 of those new employees in Texas.
The news comes as an update from the company’s March 16 announcement to hire 100,000 new full- and part-time positions across the U.S.
The new hires in Texas fill a range of roles, including picking, packing, and shipping customer orders and delivering packages from delivery stations to meet the needs of the COVID-19 demand surge, according to the Seattle-based retail giant.
Many were impacted by layoffs related to COVID-19 from a variety of other jobs and situations, including restaurant cooks, bartenders and servers, flight attendants, teachers, business owners, personal trainers, valet drivers, rideshare drivers, retirees, part-time workers whose jobs are now on hold, and people “who just wanted to help out,” according to the company.
Amazon noted that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the company is conducting virtual new hire orientation sessions and providing training and information through online sessions. The roles start with minimum pay of $17 per hour through the end of April, which is an increase of $2 per hour since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and come with company benefits on day one, for full-time and some part-time positions, according to the company.
Several other companies are also hiring during the pandemic as customers shift to online and pickup options.
Walmart wants to hire 150,000 and CVS and Dollar General are hiring 50,000 each. And pizza chain Papa John’s wants 20,000. But the hiring spree won’t offset job losses. Jobless claims have surged across the U.S., overwhelming state offices. In its report in late March, the Labor Department said 3.3 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week, up from 282,000 during the previous week. Many of the new jobs are temporary, but the companies say some may turn into permanent roles.
Amazon jobs are geared for people who want to get to work quickly, with a broad range of scheduling options. For more information:
www.amazon.com/jobsnow