Amazon Wants to Hire 100,000 to Tackle Jump in Orders from Coronavirus Outbreak

Amazon announced on Monday that it will need 100,000 more employees across the U.S. to keep pace with the surge in orders as the novel coronavirus spreads, creating more online shopping, reports AP News.

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Amazon seeks to hire 100,000 new employees

The gargantuan online retailer also said it would temporarily increase its pay by $2 per hour through the end of April for hourly employees. This includes employees working at warehouses, delivery centers, and Whole Foods grocery stores, where hourly workers are paid at least $15 per hour. Employees in European countries — including the United Kingdom — will see a similar rise in wages, AP says.

"We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for the first time of year," said Dave Clark, an overseer of Amazon's delivery network and warehouse.

Coronavirus crisis causes surge in online shopping

Throughout the last weekend, Amazon said it experienced a surge of online orders, pitting its economic might against one of the most unprecedented global events in history, which put the retailer's operations under immense pressure. The online retailer warned consumers that it might take longer than the usual two-day process for package deliveries. It added it was already sold out of many household cleaning supplies and was working to renew its stock.

All Whole Foods Market team members have access to the 2-weeks paid time off related to COVID-19 that was announced for all Amazon employees. More on how Amazon is supporting our employees, communities and customers. https://t.co/CeBVaUVADd https://t.co/aJiseUKWvQ

— Amazon Policy (@amazon_policy) March 14, 2020

Amazon tweeted its time-off policy for hourly workers last week, telling employees they may take as much time off in March as desired, but would consequently only be paid if they had earned their time off. Amazon also said it would pay hourly employees for up to two weeks if they had contracted the virus or required quarantine procedures.

Based in Seattle, Amazon said its new job openings are a mix of part-time and full-time positions and include warehouse workers and delivery drivers, both of whom pack and ship orders to online shoppers.