Amazon has announced it is recruiting more than 300,000 people across seasonal, part-time and full-time roles in its US core operations network this holiday season, marking its first increase in seasonal recruitment in three years. For the past three years, Amazon had limited holiday hires to 250,000 employees.
Seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour, while full-time core operations employees start at a minimum of $20 an hour, with average hourly pay reaching nearly $24 an hour; when factoring in benefits, average total compensation for full-time employees exceeds $32 an hour.
The more significant shift is on benefits. Beginning 1 January 2027, all eligible seasonal employees will have access to healthcare coverage starting on their first day of work, with plans starting at $5 a week with $5 copays. The benefit applies to seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours per week.
The timing has a practical implication for this season's hires. A seasonal worker who joins in November and leaves before the end of December would never reach January 1, and so would not benefit from the change during this holiday season. The policy applies fully to seasonal hiring that takes place in 2027 and later, including outside the holidays, since Amazon says it hires seasonal employees year-round.
The operations hiring push stands in contrast to Amazon's corporate headcount. The hiring drive for fulfilment centres and delivery stations comes as the company shrinks its corporate workforce .Amazon cut 16,000 corporate jobs in January, bringing its total reductions to about 30,000 since October 2025.
New job opportunities will be posted weekly from October through December. Interested applicants can visit amazon.com/localjobs to sign up for job alerts.
Source : Amazon Press Center
