As the coronavirus spreads throughout the U.S. and Americans are encouraged to stay home and do their shopping by mail, it means more jobs at Amazon including 1,400 more in Oklahoma.
The company announced this week plans to hire another 100,000 full-time and part-time workers. The 1,400 additional workers in Oklahoma City will join the existing workforce at the Oklahoma City delivery center.
“We also know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis,” said Dave Clark, the company’s Vice President of Worldwide Operations. “We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.”
The company said Amazon would also temporarily increase pay by $2 per hour for employees in the fulfillment centers, transportation operations, in stores or those making deliveries. The pay hike will cost Amazon an estimated $350 million and will last through April.