Amazon to Keep Most of the Jobs It Added During Pandemic
May 28 2020 - 6:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Sebastian Herrera
Amazon.com Inc. plans to keep most of the U.S. jobs it added to
meet demand in March and April as housebound Americans turned to
online deliveries.
Amazon said Thursday it will give 125,000 of those 175,000
temporary workers the option to stay on full time, signaling that
it expects the recent growth to continue. The company said the jobs
will supplement its total U.S. count, which it recently put at more
than 500,000.
As companies across industries have shed millions of jobs during
the pandemic, Amazon, Walmart Inc. and others that provide
essential goods have been among the few adding workers. Most,
however, were temporary hires.
U.S. unemployment surged to a record 14.7% last month, and
payrolls dropped by a historic 20.5 million workers, wiping out a
decade of job gains in a single month.
"Like other companies, we brought those individuals on in
seasonal roles to meet a surge in demand and, for many, there was
the hope of returning back to their previous companies once states
began to reopen," Amazon said. "Some may choose to return back to
their pre-Covid job and others may choose to stay at Amazon in
seasonal roles or part-time roles."
Amazon began its hiring spree in March after customers
sheltering in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus
flooded it with orders for toilet paper, food, household products
and other necessities.
Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, has added more
than 235,000 workers since mid-March, most in temporary positions,
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said earlier this month. The company
hasn't indicated whether it would make the positions permanent.
The 125,000 jobs are more than Amazon would typically add during
those months, a spokeswoman said, without providing details. She
said the shift to permanent is related to the demand the company
has seen.
As demand surged, some workers at Amazon's more than 500 U.S.
warehouses stopped showing up. Some were fearful of working during
the pandemic and others decided to make use of leave policies the
company put in place. Workers at several warehouses have held
walkouts to protest what they have said are unsafe working
conditions.
Amazon said it is investing more than $4 billion in
coronavirus-related expenses, including for personal protective
equipment, cleaning of facilities and an initiative to test
employees for the coronavirus.
Retailers typically hire temporary workers at warehouses and
stores in the run-up to the holiday shopping season. Though some
are normally given the chance to continue permanently once the
season is over, it is unusual for many to be kept. Demand during
the pandemic has been near peak holiday levels for Amazon, Walmart
and other retailers.
The Amazon spokeswoman said the 125,000 figure is based on the
long-term need of warehouses, and added that the 175,000 temporary
hires include delivery drivers who work for third-party companies,
which make their own decisions about how many to keep.
Although the company has gained better control of demand, "we
still definitely have a need for more employees," the spokeswoman
said.
Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 28, 2020 06:44 ET (10:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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