Amazon hiring 55,000 tech workers in new CEO’s first big move

• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that the company is planning to hire 55,000 workers for corporate and technology roles in the coming months.
• The jobs will be in marketing positions in engineering and research science and robotics, according to a report.
• Amazon’s Career Day is Sept. 15 and is free to attend.

Amazon’s new CEO isn’t wasting any time growing the e-commerce giant.

Andy Jassy, who took over the chief executive role from Jeff Bezos in July, said that Amazon is planning to hire 55,000 workers for corporate and technology roles globally in the coming months, according to a report.

Jassy, 53, spoke to Reuters in his first interview since taking Amazon’s top post. He said that Amazon needed to beef up its workforce to meet the demand of several sectors at the company, including retail, cloud and advertising, and other businesses. The company plans to venture into satellites to enhance broadband access with Project Kuiper, which Jassy said will require several hires.

The hiring initiative comes with Amazon’s Career Day, which will take place on Sept. 15. According to a press release, the corporate and tech roles will be across 220-plus locations in the U.S.

“We’re working hard every day to be the best place for people to have satisfying and fulfilling long-term careers,” Jassy said in a statement. “Amazon continues to grow quickly and relentlessly invent across many areas, and we’re hoping that Career Day gives both job seekers and current Amazon employees the support they need to learn new skills or reimagine their careers at Amazon or elsewhere.”

Reuters reported that Amazon is marketing positions in engineering and research science and robotics, roles that are pretty new to Amazon. A robotics engineer at Amazon can make upward of $120,000, according to salary estimations by Glassdoor.

Over 40,000 of the more than 55,000 jobs will be in the U.S., according to Jassy, while others will be in countries like India, Germany and Japan.

The company is also looking to add more warehouses and increase pay for workers at its fulfillment centers.

Jassy hinted that Amazon’s workplace culture could change too.

“Everybody at the company has the freedom – and really, the expectation – to critically look at how it can be better and then invent ways to make it better,” he said.

Ladders reached out to Amazon for comment about additional information and potential salaries.

What to expect from Amazon Career Day

Amazon said it has hired over 450,000 people in the US since the beginning of the pandemic. At its Career Day last year, it received the highest one-week number of job applications in the history of the company.

The event is open to everyone, regardless of career experience. According to a press release, Amazon’s Career Day will offer:

• Personalized career coaching: More than 1,200 Amazon recruiters will conduct 20,000 free, 1-on-1 career coaching sessions with job seekers in one day. Advice varies from entry-level positions in Amazon’s logistics network to other roles in engineering, sustainability, data science, marketing, human resources, and finance roles.
• Guest speakers: Have you ever wanted to get in the minds of some of the world’s brightest? Jassy is set to speak about his own career experience and advice for job seekers, according to the company. Additional speakers include David Epstein, an investigative reporter, and Carla Harris, vice chairman of global wealth management and senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley.
• Free workshops: Amazon will offer attendees tactical training in coding led by Amazon software development engineers.

You can register for Amazon’s Career day for free here.