Amazon to fill 33,000 jobs with average pay of $150,000

As many retailers struggle to stay afloat in the coronavirus-battered economy, Amazon is hiring like crazy. The ecommerce giant said on Wednesday it has thousands of job vacancies, with pay for many positions rising into six figures.

Amazon has 33,000 corporate and technology jobs currently open across the country, the company said in touting a virtual "Career Day" on September 16 where people can learn about the positions.

On average, the jobs will offer a total annual compensation of $150,000, including salary and stock awards, an Amazon spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch by email. The company also plans to announce soon it is hiring for thousands of additional hourly positions.

"COVID-19 continues to affect millions of people across the country, and people are eager for the opportunity to get back to work," Beth Galetti, senior vice president, human resources, said in a statement regarding the online job fair. "We are continuing to hire people from all backgrounds and at all skill levels."

Amazon said anyone can take part in its upcoming jobs event by registering and booking an appointment online with an Amazon recruiter, 1,000 of which will be available to conduct 20,000 career coaching sessions in a single day.

Beyond the individual coaching sessions, Amazon said its event would include panel discussions and interviews with career experts and company executives. Starting Wednesday, people can register for software code review workshops and breakout sessions to learn about jobs in Amazon's logistics network, it said.

The in-person fair last year drew 17,000 people to locations in six cities, with more than 200,000 applying for jobs in the week leading up to the event, according to Amazon.

Amazon's expansion comes as other companies bulk up for the holidays, with UPS on Wednesday saying it expects to hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers before a yearly increase in package volume that starts in October and continues through January.

The full- and part-time positions are mostly package handlers, drivers, driver-helpers and personal-vehicle drivers in thousands of areas across the country, according to the company. About 123,000 UPS workers — almost a third of its U.S. workforce — started in seasonal jobs, UPS stated.

A surging volume of online orders during the pandemic has at times slowed Amazon deliveries, with the company this year hiring 175,000 more people in its warehouses to help pack and ship orders. Walmart and Target have also seen their sales surge during the health crisis.

Other retailers have had a far worse go of it. J.C. Penney, J.Crew and Brooks Brothers have all gone bankrupt. And Lord & Taylor, which has been in business for nearly 200 years, recently said it will be closing its stores for good. Companies across other industries have announced buyouts or layoffs, including Coca-Cola and American Airlines.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.