Amazon Inc. is pulling up its socks in anticipation of the increased holiday shopping traffic and is hiring an additional 100,000 workers to meet the demand.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Amazon revealed that this holiday season it intends to hire 25 percent more workers for its warehouses in the U.S. compared to 2014 when it hired 80,000 people. These seasonal workers outpace the number hired by the e-retailer's rivals such as Target, Wal-Mart and Macy's.
Target anticipates hiring 70,000 seasonal employees, whereas Wal-Mart and Macy's are eyeing 60,000 and 85,000 workers, respectively. These figures are nearly the same as 2014.
Amazon believes that additional 100,000 workforce, which will bolster its warehouse workings, will aid the company in meeting the shipping demands and ensure timely deliveries. The company has over 50 warehouses in the U.S., as well as 20 package sorting centers.
Amazon's increase in seasonal worker hires for the holiday season is reflective of the shift in shopping styles as online purchasing gains popularity.
"It used to be that the bulk of holiday hires would be in customer-facing positions on the sales floor and behind the cash register. These extra workers would also help pick up the slack in the backroom, helping to receive and stock increased deliveries. Now, as more and more shopping is completed online, the holiday hiring is shifting away from stores and into the warehouses," said (pdf) John Challenger, Amazon's CEO.
Moreover, Amazon has not only hired seasonal staff, but more than 25,000 full-time employees (since August) to keep pace with anticipated consumer demand.
Traditional retailers too are adding e-commerce centers for speedier shipments to keep pace with the evolving shopping patterns.
According to Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement firm, holiday hires from U.S. retailers is estimated to be flat in 2015. This will largely be owing to the alterations in the shopping habits of individuals, as well as the job growth in the sphere that occurred earlier in 2015.
