SEATTLE: January 12, 2017. Following Donald Trump's assertion this week that "I will be the greatest jobs producer that God ever created", Amazon has announced plans to actually create 100,000 full-time U.S. jobs over the next 18 months.
This number adds to a workforce that grew during the Obama administration from 30,000 in 2011 to 180,000 by the end of 2016.
The company said the job openings would cover all types of experience, education and skill levels - from engineers and software developers to entry-level positions and on-the-job training - with many positions in new fulfillment centers under construction in Texas, California, Florida and New Jersey.
"We plan to add another 100,000 new Amazonians across the company over the next 18 months as we open new fulfillment centers, and continue to invent in areas like cloud technology, machine learning, and advanced logistics," declared Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
"Innovation is one of our guiding principles at Amazon, and it's created hundreds of thousands of American jobs. These jobs are not just in our Seattle headquarters or in Silicon Valley - they're in our customer service network, fulfillment centers and other facilities in local communities throughout the country," he added.
Amazon now has over 40,000 employees at corporate offices and fulfillment centers in its home state of Washington; 11,000 in Texas with the completion of its eight facility; a total of 17,000 in California after the construction of four more fulfillment centers; 7,000 in Illinois by the end of 2017; 11,000 in 11 sites across Kentucky; 6,500 in Florida; and 13,500 employees with the addition of more fulfillment centers in New Jersey.
The company also employs over 10,000 military veterans and last year pledged to hire and train an additional 25,000 over the next five years.
As the U.S. Senate begins its attempt to repeal the country's Affordable Heath Care Act, or "Obamacare", without determining a replacement, Amazon said all its full-time employees get the same health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plan, company stock and up to 20 weeks paid leave for new parents.
Meanwhile a new Greenpeace USA report on the energy footprints of nearly 70 of the world’s most popular websites says Amazon Web Services, Netflix and Samsung are “lagging behind” Apple, Google, Facebook and Switch.
"Amazon continues to talk a good game on renewables but is keeping its customers in the dark on its energy decisions,” said Greenpeace senior IT analyst Gary Cook. “This is concerning, particularly as Amazon expands into markets served by dirty energy.”
The IT industry’s energy footprint is forecast to reach 17 percent of global electricity consumption this year from seven percent in 2012.
