Bezos' Little Helpers

As Amazon is right in the middle of its Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions, the company’s workers are bracing for what will likely be the most stressful days of the year. Whether it’s warehouse workers or delivery drivers, every link of the supply chain will be stretched to its limits, as millions of consumers around the world are itching to spend their holiday cash on what are supposedly the best deals of the year.

Amazon's fourth quarter sales are typically 30 to 50 percent higher than average sales during non-holiday quarters, putting an enormous strain on the company’s logistics backbone. As our chart illustrates, Amazon hires thousands of seasonal workers every year to help carry the workload across its network of fulfillment/sortation centers and customer service sites.

Despite laying off a total of 27,000 workers in 2022 and 2023, this year's holiday hiring spree has been even larger than usual. In September, the company announced that it's bringing in 250,000 workers in full-time, seasonal, and part-time roles across its operations network in the U.S. this year, topping last year's seasonal hiring by 100,000 little helpers.