Amazon will hire another 100,000 people nationwide to keep up with a surge of online orders, including more than 5,500 new employees in the Chicago area, the company said Monday.
The new hires will help pack, ship or sort orders, working in part-time and full-time roles, according to a statement from the company. Amazon said the jobs are not related to its typical holiday hiring, and positions start at $15 an hour.
The Seattle company reported record profit and revenue between April and June as more people turned to it during the pandemic to buy groceries and supplies.
At one of the company's fulfillment centers in south suburban Monee Monday, Dave Bozeman, vice president of Amazon Transportation Services, said the company is looking for energetic people who want to work hard and have a great propensity for customer service.
"We have a slogan that says 'work hard, have fun and make history,'" Bozeman said. "So if you want to come out and work hard, have fun and make history every day, you are a great Amazonian."
The company already had to hire 175,000 people earlier this year to keep up with the rush of orders, and last week said it had 33,000 corporate and tech jobs it needed to fill. Amazon is also offering sign-on bonuses of up to $500.
This time around, Amazon said it needs the people at the 100 new warehouses, package sorting centers and other facilities it’s opening this month.
Local
Recently, the company announced the opening of two new facilities in south suburban Channahon.
In addition to the holiday shopping rush, Amazon plans to hold its one of its busiest shopping days, Prime Day, in the fall this year after postponing it from July.
Amazon will be monitoring whether it needs to hire more workers for the holidays, but doesn’t have anything to announce yet, said Alicia Boler Davis, who oversees Amazon's warehouses. Last year, it hired 200,000 ahead of the holidays.
