Amazon to hire 7,000 new workers
The Amazon logo is projected on a screen at a press conference in New York on Sept. 28, 2011.
Online retailer Amazon said Monday it would hire 5,000 new employees in its US distribution warehouses and 2,000 workers for customer service jobs.
The distribution jobs will be available in 17 warehouses in ten states. Warehouse tasks include picking items from warehouse shelves and packing them for delivery, the Associated Press reported.
The customer service jobs, some of which are seasonal or part-time, will be on offer in four states.
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The company made the announcement a day before a scheduled visit by President Barack Obama to its Chattanooga, Tenn., fulfillment center. At the Amazon warehouse on Tuesday, Obama is expected to speak about creating middle-class jobs.
Amazon's hiring comes amid a continued push by the company to favor growth into new ventures even at the expense of near-term profitability, on the premise that profit growth will come later.
The company last week reported a quarterly loss of $7 million as revenues soared 22 percent to $15.7 billion.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
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