E-commerce major Amazon announced that it would hire an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States in order to deal with a huge surge in online orders in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.
Amazon is looking to add extra full-time and part-time positions for warehouse and delivery workers. It will raise pay for these employees by US $ 2 per hour in the US, £ 2 per hour in the UK and approximately € 2 per hour in many EU countries, through the end of April.
The firm is currently paying US $ 15 per hour or more in some areas of the US for warehouse and delivery jobs.
Amazon is inviting employees from other industries too whose jobs were ‘lost or furloughed’ due to Coronavirus to apply and these include members of the hospitality, restaurant and travel industries.
Similar to Amazon, US supermarket chains including Albertsons, Kroger and Raley’s have also sought to hire new staff for busy sections and to fulfill online orders. The outbreak has instilled fear of quarantines or product shortages in people who are clearing out shelves at retail outlets.
This Saturday, Amazon confirmed that some brands and items in ‘household staples’ categories went out of stock even as a lot of delivery dates were not met or were longer than usual. Amazon added a notice on its marketplace this weekend that read: “Inventory and delivery may be temporarily unavailable due to increased demand. Confirm availability at checkout.”
Meanwhile, major shipper United Parcel Service Inc. also said that its trucking and air deliveries were still on, even as the Government has put restrictions on commercial activities.
The Coronavirus has led to more than 7,100 deaths globally and prompted mass lockdowns of people.
The retail giant has also taken additional precautions at its fulfillment centres and has increased the frequency and intensity of cleaning and has asked its employees to sanitise and clean their work stations and vehicles at the start as well as the end of every shift.
