By Alistair Barr
SAN FRANCISCO, July 28 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc
unveiled a new hiring spree on Monday ahead of a visit by
President Barack Obama to one of the Internet retailer’s giant
distribution warehouses this week.
Amazon said it is looking to fill more than 5,000 new
full-time jobs at 17 of its fulfillment centers across the
United States. That’s roughly a 25 percent increase in full-time
fulfillment center staff, which currently number more than
20,000 in the country.
Amazon has been building lots of new fulfillment centers
closer to customers in recent years as the company tries to
speed up delivery of online orders and reduce shipping costs.
Amazon needs a lot of workers to pick, pack and ship orders
alongside high tech robots that whiz around its warehouses. The
company’s demand for employees is so strong that it has created
special programs to woo candidates.
Last year, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos used the front
page of the company’s website to announce a Career Choice
program that pays thousands of dollars for warehouse employees
to take technical and vocational courses in high-demand areas
including engineering, information technology, transportation
and accounting.
Amazon made its latest hiring push as President Obama is due
to visit a company fulfillment center in Chattanooga, Tennessee
on Tuesday to speak about jobs in the United States.
The President will discuss proposals to jumpstart private
sector job growth and make America more competitive, according
to a White House spokeswoman.
