Amazon is creating 250,000 jobs in the US this holiday season, including full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions. They aren’t just jobs in cities and suburbs – Amazon said the hiring plans include rural areas. It’s investing over $1 billion into additional pay and benefits for its fulfillment and transportation employees.
The news comes as rumors surfaced this week that Amazon is planning to lay off up to 15% of its staff in human resources with additional layoffs in other divisions, CRN reported. The rumors attribute the unconfirmed layoffs to AI.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassey had addressed employees when the company laid off workers in the fall of 2022, saying the company was in the middle of its annual operating planning review “where we look at each of our businesses and make decisions about what we believe we should change. Leaders across the company are working with their teams and looking at their workforce levels, investments they want to make in the future, and prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses.” (via Geekwire)
Each fall, Amazon announces extra hiring during the holidays. The following numbers for the most recent 9 years reflect a pandemic-related hiring surge in 2019. It’s possible that Amazon’s decision to decentralize its fulfillment network in the spring of 2023 to improve delivery times by getting items closer to customers led to the surge in 2023.
Year/Amazon Seasonal Hiring
2017: 120,000
2018: 100,000
2019: 200,000
2020: 100,000
2021: 150,000
2022: 150,000
2023: 250,000
2024: 250,000
2025: 250,000
In its announcement on Monday, Amazon suggested jobseekers visit hiring.amazon.com to explore benefits and to visit amazon.com/localjobs to view current openings.