Amazon said it is experiencing a significant increase in demand due to the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, leading to labor demands that it called unprecedented for this time of year.
Amazon is opening 100,000 new roles and is appealing to service industry workers who may have been laid off or furloughed due to the crisis.
“We also know 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.”
It’s also offering an incentive in the form of a $2 increase in hourly pay (through April):
“In addition to the additional 100,000 new roles we’re creating, we want to recognize our employees who are playing an essential role for people at a time when many of the services that might normally be there to support them are closed. In the U.S., we will be adding an additional $2 USD per hour worked through April from our current rate of $15/hour or more, depending on the region, £2 per hour in the UK, and approximately €2 per hour in many EU countries.
“This commitment to increased pay through the end of April represents an investment of over $350 million in increased compensation for hourly employees across the U.S., Europe, and Canada.”
See the full announcement on the AboutAmazon.com blog.
