The all-important holiday shopping season is already straining logistics – an article in Wednesday’s Washington Post cited a litany of challenges retailers face, not the least of which is getting inventory in hand, and then getting items into the hands of buyers.
It quoted the general manager of a 3-location bookstore in Vermont warning, “September is the new December” – she’s telling customers, “If you see something that’s important to you, buy it now.”
Retail giants are gearing up, though they do so every year. Amazon will hire “tens of thousands” of hourly positions in its operations network, it announced on Wednesday, the same day Walmart announced it’s seeking to fill 20,000 positions across over 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers (DCs), fulfillment centers (FCs) and transportation offices.
That may sound impressive, but last September, Amazon had announced it was opening 100 buildings that month alone across new fulfillment and sortation centers, delivery stations, and other sites, and it was seeking to add 100,000 new associates throughout the US and Canada on addition to 33,000 corporate and tech jobs. This year, Amazon is also looking to fill 40,000 corporate and tech roles across 220-plus locations in the US.
Amazon went so far as to boast on Wednesday it was now the largest “job creator” in the country, reporting it had hired over 450,000 people in the US since the start of the pandemic last year (400,000 of them in 2020, the remaining in 2021).
Amazon and Walmart don’t just compete for orders – they will be vying for employees. Amazon is holding a Career Day on September 15th, and Walmart announced it will hold special hiring events on September 8 and 9 (via Indeed.com).
Oh how they’ll be crying when people opt for better jobs.
“Yell and scream and rant and rave. It’s no use, you need a shave!” — Bugs B.
I can picture my inventory spending months in the FBA parking lot before they bring it into the warehouse.