Amazon on Monday said it would hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the coronavirus outbreak. Amazon's hiring comes at a time when many companies are forced to cut jobs and pay as travel and events grind to a halt in hopes of limiting social contact and slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Amazon last week acknowledged that many household staples and other items on its website were unavailable and that deliveries were taking longer than usual. The company said it was working with the businesses that sell on its platform to resolve both. As of Monday there were more than 181,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus globally, and at least 7,113 deaths. There were at least 4,281 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. and at least 74 deaths.