Amazon just announced 300,000 holiday hires with first-day healthcare
Amazon is hiring 300,000 seasonal workers for the holidays.
The short version
- Seasonal staff will get healthcare coverage on day one.
- Workers earn an average of $20 an hour.
Why it matters to you. For your business, a giant labor player setting a new bar on benefits makes finding seasonal warehouse or delivery help tougher as workers expect better perks.
Amazon, the online retail giant, is boosting its holiday hiring by 20% compared to the past three seasons, bringing on 300,000 seasonal workers across the country, according to Retail Dive. While other retailers are cutting back or staying quiet on holiday plans, Amazon is ramping up with a major perk for temporary staff.
Starting on New Year's Day, seasonal workers will get healthcare coverage starting on their very first day on the job. Eligible employees hired before Jan. 1 will gain access to coverage on that date. "That means anyone who joins us in these qualifying seasonal roles now or in the future will have access to healthcare," wrote J. Ofori Agboka, who runs people experience and technology for the company.
Seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour, while full-time core operations staff now earn a minimum starting wage of $20 an hour, pushing the average starting wage to about $24 per hour. The retail giant also recently introduced grocery benefits, including an uncapped 10% discount on eligible grocery and everyday essentials on its website and at Whole Foods Market online, with 20% off in physical Whole Foods stores.
At the same time, Amazon has trimmed hundreds of jobs in its retail division and previously cut 14,000 corporate roles to streamline operations with artificial intelligence.
If you need holiday help this year, you may have to match first-day health benefits to land applicants.
Photo: SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
