Amazon Bets Big on the Holidays With 300,000-Plus Hires as Rivals Hold Back

Amazon Bets Big on the Holidays With 300,000-Plus Hires as Rivals Hold Back

More than 300,000 roles, first increase in three years

Amazon announced on October 20 on its corporate blog that it will hire more than 300,000 people across its U.S. core operations network for the holiday season, covering seasonal, part-time and full-time roles. The target marks the company's first increase in holiday hiring in three years: for each of the past three seasons the number held flat at 250,000, according to Reuters. The company expects a surge in holiday orders and is staffing up to meet it.

Fulfillment and transport jobs, new openings every week

The openings sit mainly in Amazon's fulfillment and transportation network, including sorting, packing and delivery roles. New postings will go up every week from October through December, the company said. A spokesperson told GeekWire that the larger target partly reflects new sites opening across the country as Amazon expands its operations footprint.

Twenty dollars for seasonal staff, nearly twenty-four for full-time

Pay is central to this year's pitch. Seasonal workers will earn an average of 20 dollars an hour, while full-time frontline employees start at a minimum of 20 dollars an hour with average pay reaching nearly 24 dollars, according to Reuters. As Quartz noted, Amazon raised minimum starting pay for U.S. full-time core operations staff by one dollar to 20 dollars an hour in September, so the holiday announcement builds on that new floor.

Thirty hours a week unlocks health care from day one

Amazon is also using benefits to keep seasonal workers around. Starting January 1, 2027, seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week will get health coverage from their first day on the job, with plan options starting at 5 dollars a week and 5-dollar copays, according to the company's press release. Seasonal staff hired before that date who meet the hours requirement will gain access when the benefit takes effect. The offer is designed to persuade holiday hires to stay on after the peak.

A weak season for retail hiring, Amazon the outlier

Amazon's expansion stands out in a gloomy market. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas projects U.S. retailers will add fewer than 450,000 seasonal jobs this year, below last year's 450,000, which would be the lowest holiday recruitment since 2008, according to Staffing Industry Analysts and Moneycontrol. Bloomberg's reporting, carried by several outlets, notes that large retailers including Walmart and Target have again refrained from announcing dedicated seasonal hiring plans and are leaning on existing workforces instead. For context, Challenger data cited by the Miami Herald puts Target's typical holiday intake at 100,000 in recent years, Bath & Body Works at more than 30,000 and Kohl's at roughly 90,000.

Beauty deals open early as hiring ramps up

Alongside the hiring push, Amazon's holiday selling machine is already running. The sixth annual Holiday Beauty Event runs October 19 through November 1, 2026, with up to 30 percent off prestige brands and rotating 48-hour flash deals worth up to 40 percent off by category, according to About Amazon and ABC News. Featured brands include Armani, Dyson, Tarte, Clinique, ELEMIS and Charlotte Tilbury. More hiring plus earlier deals adds up to one message: Amazon expects a big holiday.