Despite slower sales growth and an expected less active holiday shopping season, Amazon (AMZN.US) still plans to hire 150,000 seasonal employees, the same as last year. Amazon usually hires a large number of temporary workers at this time of year to help its warehouse store, pack and ship goods. Amazon said in a statement that depending on the employee’s position and location in the U.S., their average hourly pay can exceed $19.
The move comes after Walmart Inc. decided to hire about 40,000 seasonal workers this year, down from 150,000 in 2021.
During the epidemic, Amazon ramped up hiring in response to a surge in orders from homecoming shoppers. When consumers resumed their previous shopping habits this year, Amazon found itself with too many workers and facilities.
Amazon has since closed, postponed or abandoned plans to build dozens of warehouses in the U.S. and Europe, according to reports last September. Amazon said the company also eliminated nearly 100,000 employees between March and June – mostly through attrition – in the largest quarterly drop in its history.
U.S. online sales will grow just 9.4 percent this year to $1 trillion, the first time growth has slipped to single digits, according to Insider Intelligence, which in June lowered its previous annual forecast. The company said Amazon’s spending will reach $400 billion, up 9 percent, a slower rate of growth than the industry as a whole.
