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Some employers are on a hiring-spree to handle demand during the pandemic

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Published  September 14, 2020 6:03pm CDT
News
FOX 26 Houston

Amazon hiring over 100,000 new employees to help sales surge

Amazon, UPS among companies hiring during the pandemic.

HOUSTON - While millions of people remain unemployed, as businesses struggle to stay open during the pandemic, some employers are on a hiring spree to keep up with the growing and changing consumer demand. That could be good news for hundreds of thousands of people in need of a job.

At its sprawling manufacturing and distribution facility, in Waller, the Daikin company has been churning-out air-conditioners throughout the pandemic. The company is still in need of hundreds of employees to work everywhere from the assembly floor to the front office. April Maggio, from Corestaff Services, says that demand is not unique. "There's lots of companies that are hiring, and ready to hire people immediately," says Maggio.

The biggest of those companies is Amazon, which announced it is hiring 100,000 new staff across the U.S. and Canada to sort, pack, and deliver goods. It's the fourth time the online-retailer has grown its workforce, during the pandemic, as sales have surged 40% year-over-year.

Other employers are also adding staff to handle increased demand:

  • UPS is hiring more than 100,000 people, in anticipation of the holiday season.

  • Home improvement giants Lowes and Home Depot say they will hire 30,000 and 22,000 people, respectively.

  • Walmart's online business has nearly doubled, in the last year, leaving the retailer in need of 50,000 people to work in distribution and fulfillment.

  • Pizza delivery is weathering the pandemic. Dominos is hiring 20,000 to handle surging sales.

The hiring is an admission that what's in place is, simply, stretched too thin. "Everybody is doing more than the job they had before and covering multiple different positions," says Maggio.

For those looking for work, these jobs may require a 'reinvention' with new training and, perhaps, a smaller paycheck.

Also, to help standout, signing-up with a staffing agency can, sometimes, get your qualifications noticed instead of hoping to be discovered in a pile of applications.