Amazon hires more than 80,000 new people, 700 in Ontario

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

Back on March 13, Amazon announced the investment of $350 million worldwide to increase pay for current staff, and open up 100,000 new positions at the company. 

Around 80,000 positions have been filled as part of this hiring plan to meet the demands of communities who rely on online shopping as opposed to going out in public for supplies. Several people within communities across the world have either lost their job or been greatly impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of non-essential services. Amazon is using this action plan to allow individuals to continue to work until their employment is back up and running. 

Approximately 700 of those 80,000 individuals hired are here in Ontario. Amazon runs a fulfilment centre in Bolton.

These hires fill a series of positions, which include picking, packing and shipping orders, to adjust and meet the demands due to the pandemic. Some of these hires are those need employment; others are looking to lend a helping hand. 

Amazon has a set a fulfillment to protect employees, partners and customers. With various changes made, their commitment has not wavered, says founder Jeff Bezos. 

“We've changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering essential items like household staples, sanitizers, baby formula and medical supplies,” said Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos in an email to staff. “We're providing vital service to people everywhere, especially to those, like the elderly, who are most vulnerable. People are depending on us.” 

Amazon has set their main priority to protect employees by setting strict measures directed by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health authorities.

The company is in consistent consultation with medical experts to continue to learn and grow to ensure safety for employees. Every workstation is equipped with hand sanitizer and sanitization of door handles, handrails, touch screens other equipment are frequent. As of March 29, temperature checks were done on all employees to ensure that all staff were healthy and up to par to work. Any who had a high temperature who instructed to go home and rest for three days until their temperature decreased. 

“I can't stress enough how much I appreciate our teams for serving their communities,” explained Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon in a statement on the Amazon blog. “If someone would rather not come to work, we are supporting them in their time off. If someone is diagnosed or comes to us who is presumptively diagnosed (but unable to get a test), we are giving them extra paid time off.”

He added, “we continue to evaluate all options to ensure the support of our teams during this unprecedented time.”

Amazon has partnered with the Canadian government to produce and distribute medical supplies to those working in health care. 

Justin Trudeau tweeted on April 3, “We're working with industry to produce the supplies our health care workers need – like masks, face shields, ventilators and test kits. We reached an agreement with Amazon Canada to distribute these items to the provinces and territories via Canada Post Corporation and other delivery partners.” 

For more information about what Amazon is doing to battle COVID-19 and continue to serve communities' globally please visit, amazon.com/blog.