Amazon Plans to Hire 250,000 Employees for Holiday Season

Amazon plans to hire 250,000 employees across the United States for the holiday season.

In addition, with a $1.3 billion investment, Amazon aims to increase the average hourly pay for its customer fulfillment and transportation employees to over $20.50, marking an increase of more than 50% over the past five years, the company said in a Tuesday (Sept. 19) press release.

Over the last five years, Amazon has added over 800,000 jobs, according to the release. The latest job openings include full-time, part-time and seasonal positions in fulfillment centers and transportation roles, available in hundreds of cities and towns.

The number of people to be hired for this year’s holiday shopping season is higher than last year, when Amazon said it would add 150,000 employees, CNBC reported Tuesday.

This news comes on the same day that it was reported that three large retailers — Target, 1-800-Flowers.com and Kroger — have announced hiring plans for the upcoming holiday season that are similar to those they announced last year.

Target plans to hire 100,000 workers for the season; 1-800-Flower.com, 8,000; and Kroger, “thousands.”

A fourth retailer, Macy’s, is looking to hire 38,000 workers for this holiday shopping season, down from 41,000 last year.

Amazon Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations John Felton said in the Tuesday press release: “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.”

Felton added that these positions offer not only short-term opportunities to make extra money but also serve as a stepping stone toward a career at Amazon. Employees in fulfillment or transportation roles can expect a 13% increase in pay over the next three years, along with additional benefits like prepaid college tuition and healthcare coverage from day one of employment.

Amazon has consistently increased hourly wages every year, investing over $10 billion in hourly pay over the last five years, according to the press release. The company has also introduced new employee benefits, including an emergency savings program and a financial assistance pilot program that has already saved customer fulfillment and transportation employees nearly $20 million.

To support its operations, Amazon has also opened more than 50 new fulfillment centers, delivery stations and same-day delivery sites across the United States this year, the release said. Each site has created hundreds or even thousands of job opportunities, depending on its size and location.

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