Amazon plans to hire 250K seasonal employees to meet the holiday rush

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced on Thursday that it will hire for 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across its customer fulfillment and transportation operations in the U.S. for the holiday season. The seasonal hiring tally is the same as it was for 2023.

“Although there is an anticipated increase in the demand and the volume, we feel like the 250,000 is the right number to continue to grow and advance with our operations,” said Sandy Gordon, vice president of Global Operations Employee Experience at Amazon.

The e-commerce giant said all seasonal employees will earn at least $18 per hour and have access to benefits like health care from the first day on the job. Amazon (AMZN) noted that seasonal employees who stay at the company can see an average pay increase of 15% over their first three years of employment.

Most forecasts for 2024 holiday spending have been muted. PwC said that despite 59% of consumers saying that inflation will probably influence their holiday spending this year, the firm’s forecast is for overall spending is projected to increase by 7% to an average of $1,638 per shopper. “As retailers and consumers adapt to these shifting dynamics, the 2024 holiday season looks to be one of strategic spending, personalized experiences and technological integration,” noted PwC.