Amazon Hiring 100,000 Workers As Online Deliveries Surge In Midst Of Coronavirus

The tech firm says it knows that ‘many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis.’

Amazon.com Inc. plans to hire 100,000 more full- and part-time workers as consumers turn to online delivery in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak that’s spread around the globe.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In a blog post, the company said it will also be adding an additional $2 per hour worked through April from its current rate of $15 per hour or more, depending on the region. In the U.K., Amazon will add £2 per hour and approximately €2 per hour in many EU countries.Seattle-based Amazon said that the increase in wage represents an investment of over $350 million in increased compensation for hourly employees across the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

The firm said it knows that “many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis. We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.”

Amazon also said that it continues “to consult with medical and health experts, and take all recommended precautions in our buildings and stores to keep people healthy. We’ve taken measures to promote social distancing in the workplace and taken on enhanced and frequent cleaning, to name just a few.”

Amazon had 798,000 full-time and part-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2019, according to an SEC filing.

Amazon in late February instructed employees to defer all non-essential travel, including within the United States, due to the coronavirus, while Google also curtailed employee travel and confirmed an employee in its Zurich, Switzerland, office had contracted the disease.