Amazon is apparently on a hiring spree because of the increase in online orders which has been on the rise ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit last year. The e-commerce giant has announced that it would hire around 75,000 logistics workers in the United States and Canada. The company said that workers will be employed at its warehouse and delivery centers. The retail giant also said that it would pay a minimum of USD 17 per hour to these employees. This reflects Amazon’s decision to increase the hourly pay by between 50 cents and USD 3 an hour. The move benefitted around 500,000 workers in the United States.

Moreover, the Seattle-based company has said that it will offer a bonus of USD 100 to all the new employees who get vaccinated or shares proof that they are already vaccinated. While Amazon has not required its frontline workers to get inoculated against COVID-19, it is offering bonuses to them doing so. The company has even rolled out vaccination clinics at more than 250 warehouses. The fresh round of hiring comes as the company has to meet increased demands from customers who are forced to stay at home due to the pandemic. The other side of the development is that many businesses have complained that they are struggling to get workers. The situation has arisen because the government has expanded jobless benefits. Critics have already opined that employers must raise wages in order to attract workers.

Several companies have already announced hikes. Fast-food giant McDonald’s and Chipotle have recently taken similar measures to attract employees. To lure workers, Amazon is also offering a signing bonus of up to USD 1000 at some of it locations. The company has also announced that it is looking to hire over 1,000 workers in Britain. Amazon has been aggressively hiring workers for the past year to meet the increased demand for online orders. So much so that the number of workers hired by the company last year has touched the figure of 500,000. Overall, it employees over 1.3 million workers around the world. The company made a huge profit during the pandemic and used to expand its footprint at several other locations. As the economy is recovering, Amazon wants to make sure that it has enough hands at its new centers.