E-commerce giant Amazon said it plans to grow its full-time US workforce from 180,000 to more than 280,000 by 2018.
Amazon said that the company has become one of the biggest employers in the US, and in the last five years alone, it created 150,000 jobs in the US.
The company said that over the next 18 months, it plans to create an additional 100,000 full-time, full-benefit jobs in the US.
‘We plan to add another 100,000 new Amazonians across the company over the next 18 months as we open new fulfilment centres, and continue to invent in areas like cloud technology, machine learning, and advanced logistics’
– JEFF BEZOS
Many of the roles will be in new fulfilment centres that have been announced over the past several months and are currently under construction in Texas, California, Florida, New Jersey and many other states across the US.
New Amazon jobs will cover all skill levels
In addition to direct job creation, Amazon businesses like Marketplace and Amazon Flex will continue to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for people across the US who want the flexibility to start their own business, work part-time or set their own schedule.
The jobs will cover all skill levels, including engineers and software developers, as well as all education levels.
For example, Amazon said that 10,000 military veterans already work at the company and it plans to train an additional 25,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years.
“Innovation is one of our guiding principles at Amazon, and it’s created hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
“These jobs are not just in our Seattle headquarters or in Silicon Valley – they’re in our customer service network, fulfilment centres and other facilities in local communities throughout the country.
“We plan to add another 100,000 new Amazonians across the company over the next 18 months as we open new fulfilment centres, and continue to invent in areas like cloud technology, machine learning, and advanced logistics.”
Amazon is also one of the biggest tech employers in Ireland and manages a substantial data centre network across Dublin, with reports that it plans to build a data centre this year. The company now employs 1,400 people in Dublin and 800 in Cork.
Last year, Amazon revealed that it plans to rent a massive office block in Dublin and create 500 new jobs.
Amazon delivery box. Image: Hadrian/Shutterstock
Want stories like this direct to your inbox? Sign up for Career Republic, Silicon Republic’s weekly digest of sci-tech careers news and advice.
Updated, 9.12am, 13 January 2017: This article was amended to clarify that Amazon is creating 100,000 new jobs.
