Amazon News: E-Commerce Giant To Hire 100,000 Employees As Demand Spikes Due To Coronavirus

E-commerce giant Amazon announced Monday that it will have to hire 100,000 new employees due to higher demand for online orders amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

“We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, said. Consumers are staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, causing an increase in online orders.

The company has said that it may take longer to fulfill some deliveries.

Positions available include delivery drivers and warehouse workers, among others. Amazon will raise wages by $2 for all hourly employees, as they cope with the surge in deliveries. Workers who have been laid off amid the outbreak are welcome to apply for the new positions.

Amazon has also attempted to help businesses negatively impacted by the outbreak. The company on Tuesday announced it would start a $5 million relief fund for small businesses impacted by the virus in the Seattle area.

The state of Washington, where Amazon is headquartered, has suffered the most from the coronavirus. As of Monday, there are more than 873 cases and at least 48 deaths in the state, with Gov. Jay Inslee shutting down restaurants and bars to prevent the virus from spreading further.

There are currently more than 3,800 cases of coronavirus in the United States, with the death toll exceeding 70.