Amazon has announced that it is plans to hire an additional 125,000 employees throughout the U.S., on top of the 40,000 corporate and technology jobs announced earlier this month. The roles in fulfillment and transportation offer an average starting wage of more than $18 per hour, and up to $22.50 per hour in some locations. The company will also provides full-time employees with comprehensive benefits from day one, worth an additional $3.50 per hour. They include health, vision, and dental insurance, 401(k) with 50% company match, up to 20 weeks paid parental leave, and Amazon's Career Choice program.

Under the companies newly expanded Career Choice program for its U.S. employees, Amazon’s more than 750,000 operations employees in the U.S., including hourly employees at Amazon Fresh stores, are now eligible for fully funded college tuition, including the cost of classes, books and fees. The company has also added three new skills training programs for employees to help them transition into jobs as data-center technology technicians, IT engineers, and user experience designers.

Following recent announcements from Walmart and Target, both of which now offer free college tuition for associates, the Seattle-based retailer said it would expand its Career Choice education and skills training program with a total investment of $1.2 billion by 2025. In addition to fully funded college tuition, Amazon’s Career Choice program will also fund high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for its front-line employees - including those who have been at the company for just three months.

But while Career Choice is available to all full- and part-time Amazon employees, including hourly employees at Amazon Fresh stores, additional Amazon physical stores, and a handful of Amazon subsidiaries, it does not include Whole Foods Market team members.

Amazon is also launching three new upskilling programs - all tuition-free for participants - to provide more career-advancement opportunities for its employees. The programs include AWS Grow Our Own Talent, Surge2IT, and The User Experience Design and Research Apprenticeship.

“Today, there are not enough workers to fill every open job in the United States, which means that businesses are struggling to hire—especially for roles that require specific or technical skill sets,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation SVP Cheryl Oldham said in a statement. “When large employers like Amazon commit to investing in their people through upskilling programs, especially in technical fields, it helps to ensure that the business community has access to a workforce pipeline that meets their needs today and in the future.”

Hiring for the new roles is already underway and sign-on bonuses of up to $3,000 are available in select locations. The locations of the roles are spread across the U.S. and include rural areas.

In 2021, Amazon opened over 250 new fulfillment centers, sortation centers, regional air hubs, and delivery stations in the U.S., and will open over 100 more buildings in September alone. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Amazon has hired more than 450,000 people in the U.S. Amazon is now the largest job creator in the U.S.

Along with hiring directly for Amazon, the company works with more than 2,500 Delivery Service Partners. The company claims these partners plan to hire more than 50,000 delivery associates by the end of the year.

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