Amazon to hire 5,000 at-home workers in massive hiring binge

Today’s post was shared by Jon L Gelman and comes from www.wbir.com.

Editor’s Note: work-from-home, particularly on a large scale, can make for interesting workers’ compensation coverage questions. – kc

Amazon announced Thursday it plans to add 30,000 part-time positions in the U.S. over the next year, part of a massive hiring binge by the online retailing giant.

The part-time hiring includes 5,000 jobs in Virtual Customer Service, which would allow employees to work as a customer service agent from home. The remaining 25,000 would be at Amazon warehouses. Any part-time employees who work 20 hours or more a week are also eligible for benefits.

"There are lots of people who want or need a flexible job — whether they’re a military spouse, a college student, or a parent — and we’re happy to empower these talented people no matter where they happen to live,” said Tom Weiland, Amazon’s vice president for worldwide customer service, in a statement.

It’s not clear how many warehouse jobs will be coming to Tennessee, but the state has one of Amazon’s largest shipping footprints with multiple warehouses around both Nashville and Chattanooga.

The part-time plan is part of a larger hiring spree by Amazon. In January, the company said it would add 100,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. with full benefits over the next 18 months. Most positions will be filled at fulfillment centers and in new fields including cloud technology and machine learning.

Amazon has bolstered its workforce over the last several years. In 2011, Amazon had more than 56,000 full- and part-time employees. By the end of its 2016 fiscal year, that number swelled to more than…

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