Coronavirus Is Good For Online Business
Online retailing giant Amazon has urged US workers who've lost jobs because of the coronavirus lockdown to apply for many the 75,000 jobs it is offering. The online retail giant is to hire 75,000 new people amidst soaring demand for delivery services as much of the world remains on lockdown from coronavirus.
Amazon offers a variety of job opportunities to people with diverse backgrounds and skills, ranging from software developers, engineers and technicians, to those seeking entry-level positions and on-the-job training.
These new jobs are mainly warehouse jobs, and are being pitched in part as short-term work for people whose vocations have been hardest hit by the sudden stop in all social activities. With new jobless claims in the US topping 16 million, there is no shortage of applicants.The company also said it would ease its temporary curbs on non-essential goods being sold on its platforms.
Last month, Amazon took on 100,000 extra US staff to fill priority online orders for food and medical equipment for existing customers.But it still has a waiting list for new customers and Amazon said it would now allow more non-essential items from third-party sellers, who make up the majority of sales on its site. "Products will be limited by quantity to enable us to continue prioritising products and protecting employees, while also ensuring most selling partners can ship goods into our facilities," Amazon said in a statement to the Financial Times.
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus lockdowns, with more than 16 million submitting unemployment claims.
On its blog about its response to the coronavirus, Amazon said that the fresh hires, which are all in warehouse and dstribution, could provide temporaryrelief for workers in sectors such as hospitality, restaurants, and travel. "We welcome anyone out of work to join us at Amazon until things return to a normal and their past employer is able to bring them back," the comapny stated.
Staff Protests Over Coronavirus' Protections
Its not all good news for Amazon and it does face protests from current warehouse staff over whether it has provided adequate protection from coronavirus infections at its warehouses.
More than 50 Amazon locations have confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the Financial Times.
In March, Amazon fired a New York warehouse worker who organised a protest over an alleged lack of safety precautions, ut in the blog post, Amazon said it has made changes to work conditions including enhanced testing, cleaning and social distancing as well as issued protective gear and started temperature checks at operations worldwide.
Amazon: Financial Times: BBC: Where Women Work: HomeLandPreparedness: The Register:
Image: Nick Youngson / Alphastock
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