Amazon to hire 7,000 new workers

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.

More from GlobalPost: German Amazon workers go on strike

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.

Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!