As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, many companies have had to cut employees or close their doors entirely, but Amazon has upped its workforce by more than 50 percent from a year ago, The New York Times reports.
Amazon added 427,300 jobs between January and October, bringing its employee base to more than 1.2 million people globally — essentially equal to the entire population of Dallas. The corporation’s boom in such a short period of time is unrivaled, not just during a pandemic, but in general, according to the Times. The only comparable hiring spree in United States history occurred for entire industries during wartime, such as shipbuilding during World War II.
“It’s hiring like mad,” said Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “No American company has hired so many workers so quickly.”
The tech titan has experienced a boom in profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many have turned to e-commerce to safely obtain household needs as the virus rages on. To meet the growing demand, Amazon has upped its hiring, bringing mostly warehouse workers, software engineers and hardware specialists onboard.
Other major online retailers, such as Walmart and Target, have experienced a surge in profits and increased employee bases in recent months, as well, but not on Amazon’s level. If its rapid growth continues, Amazon is slated to surpass Walmart as the world’s largest private employer, the Times predicts.