GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Gamers rejoice: GameStop is almost doubling its number of seasonal workers this holiday season as it prepares to deal with strong demand for new video games and the new iPhone.
GameStop Corp. said Thursday that it plans to hire about 25,000 employees for the critical holiday period, up approximately 47 percent from a year ago. The video game retailer said that the additional seasonal hires are expected to help it provide better customer service as people shop for new video games for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Wii U.
The company said that it also expects many people will be trading in their mobile devices so that they can upgrade to the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus from Apple Inc.
GameStop is not the only company preparing for the holiday rush. Kohl’s Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are among those that have announced that they will be hiring more seasonal employees this year.
GameStop said that it is looking to hire warehouse workers for distribution centers in Grapevine and Louisville, Kentucky; sales associates for its stores and about 250 consumer electronic technicians for its refurbishment operation center. It did not disclose exactly how many sales associates or warehouse workers it plans to hire.
The Grapevine company said that it will offer part-time, flexible work schedules with the possibility of up to 10 to 15 hours of work weeknights, weekends and during the day. Seasonal workers will receive a 15 percent discount on certain merchandise in stores and online.
GameStop said that individuals interested in applying for positions can visit the GameStop Careers section on its website or find a full list of jobs and other related details on its Facebook page or Twitter account for GameStop Careers.
Seasonal jobs will start on Oct. 6 and run through Jan. 9, 2015.
GameStop is not the only company preparing for the holiday rush. Kohl’s Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are among those that have announced that they will be hiring more seasonal employees this year.
Its shares slipped 36 cents to $42.81 in morning trading Thursday. Its shares had fallen more than 12 percent so far this year through Wednesday’s close.