Amazon has confirmed plans to hire a quarter of a million new seasonal workers in the US alone over the 2023 festive period as it begins to ramp up operations in preparation for Christmas.
At the same time, the ecommerce giant proclaimed that the average wage for customer fulfillment and transportation employees in the US now stands at $20.50 per hour, up more than 50% over the past five years.
However, many new and existing workers will continue to hold on to the fact that the company has ruthlessly shaken off 27,000 workers due to pandemic-related overhiring - a raw memory that lives on inside the minds of many.
Amazon hiring for Christmas
Senior VP of Worldwide Operations John Felton said: “The holiday season is always a special time at Amazon and we’re excited to hire 250,000 additional people this year to help serve customers across the country.”
The company also said in a press release that it has invested more than $10 billion into hourly pay over the last five years, with other improvements made to worker benefits including a number of day-one benefits.
Amazon says that its customer fulfillment and transportation average hourly wage now stands at $20.50, with some workers receiving up to $28 per hour. The lowest wage for this type of role currently stands at $17 per hour. Further signing bonuses of between $1,000 and $3,000 are available in some regions, too.
Amazon noted that employees in this sector starting today would likely see an increase of 13% in wages - or more - over the next three years.
The company typically sees a surge in operations during the festive period. Add to this the company’s decision to broaden its reach to ecommerce businesses operating via their own websites and it’s clear that its workers could have a lot of work on their hands over the next few months.
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