A man carries an Amazon box in Hong Kong (illustration). – Miguel Candela / SOPA Images / Sip
Amazon will raise the wages of warehouse workers around the world and recruit 100,000 people in the United States to handle the influx of orders related to the new coronavirus crisis.
Employees of warehouses, logistics centers, stores and delivery men of the online shopping giant will receive about 2 dollars / pounds / euros per hour more “so that others can stay at home,” the group said in a statement. on Monday. This increase will cost him more than $ 350 million.
In the United States, the Seattle (West) company has also decided to create 100,000 full-time or part-time jobs in these same supply chains, from warehouses to delivery, to “meet the increase in demand for share of people who depend on Amazon services during this stressful time. ”
Two weeks’ wages for infected employees
Several European countries have implemented drastic measures to contain the population, now only opening essential stores, to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has already claimed more than 7,000 lives worldwide. Large American cities and counties have followed suit with decrees to close schools and limit unnecessary travel. In these places, bars and other non-essential establishments must temporarily close, but restaurants may remain open for take-out or deliveries.
Deliveries remain authorized. Authorities everywhere insist particularly on social distancing, such as staying 1 or 2 meters from others. “We know how many people have lost or are going to lose their jobs in sectors like restaurants, tourism or travel because of this crisis,” notes Amazon. “We want these people to know they are welcome on our teams until they get back to normal and when their past employers can take them back.”
As a leader in online commerce, Amazon is on the front line facing certain components of the crisis: the explosion in demand for sanitary products, attempts at speculation or misinformation about these same products. The group has repeatedly assured that it is fighting the swelling prices of certain products sold on its platform. He also promised to pay up to two weeks’ wages to employees infected with the new coronavirus or placed in quarantine.
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