Amazon confirmed on March 16,2020 that it will hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the US to handle the growing number of online orders amid coronavirus shutdowns. Move To Tackle Surging Volume Amazon said it has seen a surge in people shopping online as spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) is prompting people to stay home, driving higher volumes of online and local-delivery orders, which in turn is resulting in delays and logistical problems. To tackle these challenges, Amazon plans to hire an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers—and give all warehouse and delivery employees a $2 an hour raise through April. In October 2018, Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour for all US employees. In the UK, hourly pay will increase by £2 an hour while in eurozone countries, rates will increase by €2 an hour. Amazon Warns of Delayed Deliveries Many household and personal-care items on Amazon.com are out of stock as demand surges with COVID-19-driven panic buying across the US—and online. With online orders surging, Amazon warned that constraints at local delivery stations could slow delivery—and has posted a notice at the top of its US marketplace that reads “Inventory and delivery may be temporarily unavailable due to increased demand. Confirm availability at checkout.” [caption id="attachment_105350" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Amazon warns of delivery delays
Source: Company website [/caption]   Even Prime members who usually get orders within one or two days are experiencing delays. Amazon mentioned in a blog post that COVID-19 is impacting how the company serves customers in a short term, but that it is working to ensure that no one artificially raises prices on staple products during the pandemic. Software Problems Have Not Helped In addition to the COVID-19-driven surge in online orders, Amazon has also experienced technical issues. The company recently notified customers and delivery workers about a “technical issue that is causing a delay to Prime Now, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Markets orders being assigned to delivery partners.” The company says the technical issue was created by the surge in online orders and said it is working to resolve the issues as soon as possible.