Amazon aims to hire thousands of workers in a single day
Amazon (AMZN) plans to make thousands of job offers in just one day when it holds a giant job fair next week at nearly a dozen warehouses across the US.
People who are offered jobs on the spot will be hired to pack or sort boxes and help ship them to customers, with nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 jobs expected to be full-time positions, the e-commere giant said.
Most of the jobs will count toward Amazon's previously announced goal of adding 100,000 full-time workers by mid-2018. The hiring spree is yet another sign of the company's growth at a time when traditional retailers are closing stores and cutting jobs.
Tuna Amobi, an equity analyst with CFRA Research in New York, said the mass hiring is likely due to a shortage of employees at Amazon and to the company's rapid growth.
"I think what is even more remarkable is that a lot these employees are going to be full time. You know, usually, we don't see that many full-time employees get hired by any one company," he said in an interview with CBS News. "It also speaks to Amazon's strategic vision as to its underlying confidence that its business is going to continue to grow."
Amobi believes Amazon also wants to hire thousands of people next week in order bring the new employees aboard before other retailers hire them for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Amazon has long been known for investing the money it makes back into its businesses. Part of that involves opening new warehouses, or fulfillment centers, and filling them with employees.
In the company's most recent earnings statement, for example, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company had hired more than 30,000 new employees and opened three new Amazon Books stores," among other expansion moves.
As a result Amazon has often reported quarterly losses, even as revenue grows.
The number of full-time and part-time workers at Amazon has swelled from 56,000 at the end of 2011 to more than 340,000 last year. In roughly the same period, the number of people employed by the parent company of Sears and Kmart has been slashed in half to about 140,000.
The job fair, which takes place on Wednesday, will include tours and sessions with company representatives. Job prospects will also be introduced to robots and other automation technology Amazon uses at its warehouse operations. The hires will help the company build out its infrastructure, capability and logistics.
Amazon said its jobs offer health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans and company stock. Pay differs based on location, according to job postings on Amazon's site. It is offering a starting rate of $13 an hour for a full-time job in Baltimore and $12.25 an hour for a similar position in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
