Amazon to hire 55K for corporate, tech positions in coming months, new CEO says

SEATTLE — In his first interview since taking the helm in July, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed Wednesday that the online retail giant intends to hire 55,000 people for corporate and technology roles across the globe in the coming months.

Specifically, Jassy told Reuters that the company’s talent acquisition team intends to bolster its retail, virtual storage and advertising workforces, while investing heavily to staff up Project Kuiper, Amazon’s new bid to expand broadband access by launching satellites into orbit.

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The new hires would nearly equal Facebook’s total payroll and represent more than one-third of Google’s June 30 headcount, CNBC reported.

“There are so many jobs during the pandemic that have been displaced or have been altered, and there are so many people who are thinking about different and new jobs,” Jassy told Reuters, citing a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey that indicated 65% of workers are looking for a new challenge.

According to the company, the new hires would represent a 20% increase in Amazon’s tech and corporate staff, who currently number around 275,000 globally, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, the available positions will include engineering, research science and robotics roles that are largely new to the company, Reuters reported.

Jassy also told the news outlet that more than 40,000, or nearly three-quarters, of the new jobs will be filled in the United States, with countries such as India, Germany and Japan vying for the balance.

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