Amazon will hire 75,000 new employees to meet new orders for essential products, which have spiked after restrictions on movement were put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
The 75,000 new roles are in addition to the 100,000 new full- and part-time roles the company announced last month, which the e-commerce giant said have already been filled.
“We continue to see increased demand as our teams support their communities, and are going to continue to hire … creating an additional 75,000 jobs to help serve customers during this unprecedented time,” the company said in a blog post.
“Our original 100,000 jobs pledge is filled, and those new employees are working at sites across the US,” it said.
“We know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis, and we welcome anyone out of work to join us until their past employer can bring them back,” it added.
The e-commerce giant is witnessing an overwhelming demand from customers placing online orders for packed foods and household goods as they avoid congested supermarkets and stores. Last month, the company warned customers of delivery delays due to a backlog of orders.
It has also increased the amount it said it will invest in pay increases and employee safety to $500 million (Dh1.8 billion), up from a previous estimate of $350m.
“We will invest in safety, pay and benefits for our teams who are playing an invaluable role in getting items to communities around the world,” the company said.
Amazon has faced criticism from trade unions for keeping facilities open and risking the safety of its employees during the pandemic. It has seen temporary strikes and workers staging walkouts in protest at the company’s decision to keep warehouses open as infections have occurred.
Amazon reported its first positive case of Covid-19 on March 18 at its New York facility and has since recorded infections in 50 other facilities, out of the more than 500 the company runs across the US.
Outside the US, five employees, working at Amazon’s warehouses in Spain and Italy, have also contracted the infection.
The company also faced public ire after a fulfillment centre employee accused Amazon of firing him after he led a strike at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, protesting against inadequate safety measures.
“Taking action cost me my job,” Chris Smalls said in an interview. “Because I tried to stand up for something that’s right, the company decided to retaliate against me.”
To win the confidence of agitating employees, Amazon has since increased wages for hourly employees. It has also established a $25m fund focused on supporting the company’s independent delivery and service partners, their drivers and seasonal employees under financial distress due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company has also paused its fulfillment centre public tours, cancelled large events and conducted most of its job interviews virtually rather than in-person.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
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PROFILE BOX
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
