Amazon.com, world’s biggest web retailer is boosting staff strength in 17 US warehouses, adding more than 5,000 full-time jobs to meet sharp demand for products sold on its website.
The new hires will join more than 20,000 employees working at Amazon’s more than three dozen U.S. fulfilment centres.
Amazon is also hiring 2,000 customer-service staff, including part-time and seasonal workers. The retailer plans to open five more facilities this year, after adding 20 last year.
Warehouse expenses have more than doubled during the past three years, as CEO Jeff Bezos opens centres full of products closer to consumers in order to reduce shipping costs and speed up delivery.
“As we get closer and closer to customers with fulfilment, we have seen growth,” Amazon Chief Financial Officer Thomas Szkutak, said.
Szkutak revealed that the growth is driven by Amazon Prime members, who pay $79 a year in exchange for unlimited two-day shipping and access to streaming video.
