Amazon seeks to hire 75,000; offers $100 to vaccinated hires

Amazon is seeking to hire 75,000 people in a tight job market and is offering bonuses to attract workers, including $100 for new hires who are already vaccinated for COVID-19.

The jobs pay at least $15 an hour and are for delivery drivers and warehouse workers, who pack and ship online orders. Amazon raised hourly pay for some of its workers last month, and the company said Thursday that new hires will make an average of $17 an hour.

The hiring spree comes as the company gears up for Prime Day next month, its popular sales event that has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year for Amazon.

Amazon didn’t say if it is having trouble finding workers, but other companies have said they are as Americans start heading out again. There’s many reasons for the worker shortage: Some are fearful they’ll get sick with coronavirus; others have child care issues and need to stay home to watch their children; and some businesses don’t pay enough to go beyond the extra $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit.

McDonald’s, Chipotle and other companies have announced pay hikes to try and lure workers back. Amazon said it will offer a $1,000 sign-on bonus to new hires in many parts of the country.

Many of the job openings are in 14 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.

Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., which has more than 1.2 million employees worldwide, is the second-largest private employer in the U.S. after retailer Walmart.

Last year alone, Amazon hired 500,000 people to keep up with a surge of orders during the pandemic as more people stayed home and shopped online.