To ease the blow on the US economy, Amazon is now offering full-time positions to most of the 175,000 temporary workers it brought onboard since March. The hiring would also help meet the sudden surge in consumer demand for retail deliveries.
Like other retail bigwigs, Amazon hired seasonal staff to meet a massive surge in March. Many had the hope of returning back to their previous employer once states began to reopen. This is hardly an option for hundreds of seasonal workers who got laid off during the lockdown.
Images of Amazon’s Seattle, Washington, campus, in both the downtown and South Lake Union neighborhoods. (JORDAN STEAD / Amazon)
According to Amazon, for those who wish to stay and grow with amazon will be offered season-to-permanent, fulltime roles starting this month. These roles are specifically for last-mile delivery and customer fulfillment.
At Amazon, regular, full-time roles come with a slew of benefits starting on day one. A minimum wage of at least $15 an hour as well as access to training programs like Career Choice make is easier for employees at Amazon to springboard into a fulfilling career at other companies.
Amazon Offers Permanent Jobs To Workers
Amazon will be investing nearly $4 billion in a bid to keep their employees safe and help them deliver packages safely during the coronavirus crisis.
Over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment over the last 10 weeks as the COVID-19 crisis brought much of the US economy to a standstill. Prior to the shutdown of shops, offices, and businesses across the country, the weekly US unemployment claims had averaged 218,000.
The current unemployment rate in the country is nearly 15%, according to the April jobs report, marking the highest since The Great Depression. Prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.5%.
The losses are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-weakened US economy. While some businesses are beginning to reopen, factories, malls, resorts, sporting venues, and hundreds of small businesses are still largely shuttered. Millions of lives across the nation have been upended due to mass layoffs.
Whether you want to stay up-to-date on HR news, read in-depth insights on HR trends or find new ideas on strategy, innovation, and leadership, The HR Digest Magazine is here to suit your needs and help you stay more informed.