US retail giant Amazon plans to recruit more than 300,000 seasonal, part-time, and full-time personnel across its US core operations network for this holiday season.
From next year, seasonal workers who put in at least 30 hours weekly will become eligible for the same healthcare package received by regular full-time employees.
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Anyone brought on before 1 January gets access on that day, whereas those joining from 1 January onwards are covered from their first day.
Plans begin at $5 per week and carry $5 copays.
On pay, Amazon said full-time workers in core operations will start at no less than $20 hourly, with the average edging towards $24.
The company added that when benefits are counted, mean total compensation rises above $32 per hour, while seasonal employees will average $20 hourly.
It has also disclosed pay increases worth more than $1.5bn last month for its US core operations workforce.
According to the company, job openings will be posted each week between October and December.
Seasonal workers can progress to full-time roles, and the Career Choice programme assists staff studying for degrees, certificates or other new skills.
Amazon people experience and technology vice-president J Ofori Agboka said: “These investments reflect our continued commitment to making Amazon a place where people can earn, learn, and create opportunities for themselves and their families.”
The move follows a National Retail Federation forecast released last week. It expects US retail sales to reach $1.013tn during the 2026 holiday season, up 4.2% year-on-year.
The forecast covers November and December, including Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.
Earlier this month, Amazon eliminated approximately 1,000 roles across several teams, including its Stores business, customer service, marketplace support, and retail engineering operations.
