Amazon to hire over 300,000 US holiday workers, up 20% from last year

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Amazon plans to hire more than 300,000 workers across the US for the holiday shopping season, up about 20% from last year's recruitment target, the company announced Tuesday.

The hiring drive covers full-time, part-time and seasonal positions across its core operations network, with vacancies posted weekly from October through December.

Amazon announced plans to recruit 250,000 workers for the 2025 holiday season. This year's target represents more than 50,000 additional positions as the company prepares for its busiest shopping period.

The increase follows three consecutive years in which Amazon set its US holiday hiring target at 250,000.

Seasonal workers will earn an average of $20 an hour. Full-time operations employees receive a minimum starting wage of $20, while average hourly pay across the core operations workforce is nearly $24.

Including benefits, average total compensation exceeds $32 an hour, Amazon said.

The company will also expand healthcare coverage to seasonal employees working at least 30 hours a week from Jan. 1, 2027.

Eligible employees hired before January will gain coverage on that date, while those joining afterward will qualify from their first day. Plans will start at $5 a week, with $5 copayments.

The recruitment push comes against a weaker outlook for seasonal retail employment across the US.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects retailers' seasonal hiring to fall below last year's 450,000 jobs, which would mark the lowest level since 2008.

Hiring by transportation and warehousing companies is expected to remain broadly unchanged from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Adobe forecasts US online spending of $275.1 billion in November and December, an increase of 6.7% from 2025.

UPS has also announced plans to recruit more than 100,000 seasonal workers, broadly in line with previous years.

Mücahithan Avcıoğlu