Coronavirus: Amazon to hire 100,000 staff as pandemic causes surge in online shopping demand

Technology firm sales ‘unprecedented’ for this time of year as consumers avoid shops and stock up online

Amazon plans to hire an extra 100,000 workers in the US and raise pay rates to deal with a surge in demand as consumers avoid shops and stock up online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The technology firm said it needs an unprecedented amount of labour for this time of the year and is willing to pay more to attract enough staff.

Amazon employees in the UK will get a £2 per hour pay rise while those in the EU will get an additional €2. US workers will receive $2 an hour more, taking pay to $17 an hour.

The company reached out to hospitality workers, many of whom have seen their hours drastically reduced or face losing their jobs as people stay home and avoid bars and restaurants.

“We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back,” Amazon said in a statement.

In the UK, the Unite union estimates that without a package of government support, social distancing threatens up to a third of jobs in pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels could be at risk, with lay-offs starting within a few weeks.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to unveil new measures on Tuesday to help boost the economy and support firms most affected by the virus.

Amazon said it has taken additional precautions to help workers stay safe from infection, such as extra cleaning and "measures to promote social distancing in the workplace".

But it did not make clear what those measures were or how warehouse staff could keep at low risk of contracting the virus when the advice from many governments is to avoid social contact and work from home where possible.

A recent study by MIT found that the new coronavirus can remain live in a cardboard delivery box for at least a day.

Jeff Bezos’ company has been criticised for its health and safety record in the past.

More than 600 people working in Amazon warehouses in the UK were seriously injured or narrowly avoided an accident in the last three years, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive – a national watchdog for workplace safety.

The GMB trade union, which revealed the figures earlier this month, has called for a parliamentary inquiry into “hellish” conditions at warehouses run by the tech giant in the UK.

A Freedom of Information request by GMB found that between 2016/17 and 2018/19 a total of 622 reports have been made from Amazon warehouses to

The figures showed the number of incidents rose each year, with one case involving a worker who was knocked unconscious and stopped breathing.