Amazon announces on Monday that it is hiring 1000,000 more warehouse and delivery employees in the United States to deal with the surge in online shopping orders due to the coronavirus outbreak. The e-commerce giant is looking to hire additional full-time and part-time workers to meet the demand. Through the April end, the company will raise wages by $2 per hour for these employees in the United States, £2 per hour in the United Kingdom, and around €2 per hour in several European countries.
Amazon said it would hire 100,000 workers in the U.S. to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the #coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/30uM1XHPT8 pic.twitter.com/1uD28zFC6g
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 17, 2020
Currently, Amazon pays $15 per hour or above in some regions of the United States to its employees for warehouse and delivery jobs. Furthermore, Amazon encouraged employees of other companies and industries to apply who lost their jobs due to coronavirus, including affiliates of the restaurant, hospitality, and travel industries. It added, they want those jobless people to welcome them in their teams until everything returns to the normal environment, and they join back their actual jobs.
The e-commerce company took the decision as the COVID-19 outbreak continued to worsen all over the world. As of Tuesday afternoon, around 188,612 cases reported worldwide, with at least 7,510 deaths. And in the United States confirm cases were 4,660 and death toll hit 85. Due to the global panic situation after the closing of shopping malls and food markets, Amazon hit with a rapid wave of delivery delays and product shortage.
Amazon Facing Shortage of Items
Amazon stated that some popular brands and household items were out of stock, whereas some of its delivery times are longer than usual. Moreover, it added a note at the top of its website that Inventory, as well as delivery, may be momentarily unavailable because of increased demand. So, confirm the availability of orders at checkout.
Amazon tweeted that they are playing their role during this bad time of COVID-19 by serving the customers and supporting the community directly and indirectly.
We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is an important one. Here is a roundup of how we’re addressing COVID-19 and supporting those directly and indirectly impacted. https://t.co/JgdeudxkYS
— Amazon (@amazon) March 16, 2020
