Amazon to Hire 30,000 Full-Time, Full Benefits
Amazon is holding job fairs across the country aiming to hire more than 30,000 people by early next year.
They are looking for workers, from software engineers, who can earn more than $100,000 a year, to warehouse staff paid at least $15 an hour to pack and ship online orders. The company said all the positions are full-time and come with benefits. Hiring events will take place Sept. 17 in six locations where it thinks it can find the strongest talent: Arlington, Virginia — where it’s building a second headquarters; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Nashville, Tennessee; and its hometown of Seattle. It’s calling the event “Amazon Career Day,” and set up a website with more details: www.amazon.jobs/careerday .
“I encourage anyone willing to think big and move fast to apply for a job with us,” said Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, in a statement to The Associated Press. “You’ll get to invent and see Amazon making even bolder bets on behalf of our customers.”
The high number of job openings, which Amazon said is the most it’s had at one time, shows how fast the company is growing. Started as an online bookstore more than two decades ago, Amazon now produces movies, makes voice-activated gadgets and has plans to send satellites into space to provide internet service.
Amazon already has more than 650,000 employees worldwide, making it the second-biggest U.S.-based private employer behind Walmart Inc. And that number will likely rise: Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington is expected to employ 25,000 people in the next 12 years. And the company has moved into more industries, including health care and advertising.
Amazon hopes the hiring events will create some buzz and bring in candidates with the skills it needs. Thousands of people showed up for nationwide job fairs it held two years ago for warehouse workers. At the job fairs, Amazon said about 1,000 recruiters will help candidates apply for positions, prepare them for job interviews and give them more information on the roles.