Amazon India to hire 50,000 for temp jobs in fulfilment, delivery as coronavirus pushes ecommerce

Bucking the trend of unemployment and layoffs, Amazon India has decided to hire about 50,000 people in temporary jobs as coronavirus lockdown has pushed India’s e-commerce sector. The e-tailer “opened close to 50,000 seasonal roles to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public,” it said on Friday. There will be various roles across fulfilment centres and delivery networks including part-time flexible work opportunities as independent contractors with Amazon Flex. The government has recently allowed e-commerce deliveries across the country and while delivery to all zones have been allowed including red, green and orange zones, the containment zones have been excluded from e-commerce operations for now.

“We are creating work opportunities for close to 50,000 seasonal associates across our fulfilment and delivery network. This will also keep as many people as possible working during this pandemic while providing a safe work environment for them,” Akhil Saxena, VP, Customer Fulfilment Operations, APAC, MENA & LATAM, Amazon, said. With the migrant crisis and mass displacement of daily wage labourers, retailers all across the country are facing an unprecedented shortage of workforce.