WEST MICHIGAN (WKZO AM/FM) — Amazon is hiring more workers in West Michigan to help it handle growing demand for goods purchased online during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The company announced on Thursday that it recently has hired 1,000 employees at its fulfillment centers in the Grand Rapids area, part of a nationwide growth effort that has added 80,000 new workers.
New hires will work in roles including shipping and delivering consumer products, as well as packaging supplies at the company’s warehouses.
Amazon recently opened up an 850,000-square-foot-facility in Kent County’s Gaines Township to increase its distribution capacity in West Michigan and said that it was expecting to hire more than 1,000 workers earlier in February.
The company said in a released statement that all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal workers hired are eligible to be paid a $17/hour minimum wage, $2 more than usual to compensate for work during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Many of the workers hired were recently laid off from industries hard-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak such as restaurants, tourism, and retail outlets.
Michigan’s unemployment agency released data showing that a record 384,000 people filed for unemployment last week. Overall more than 800,000 state residents filed claims in the last three weeks as the agency finds itself overwhelmed with the new flood of people seeking assistance benefits.
