Who is hiring? Big-name retailers, groceries adding jobs in Ohio

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

With outbreak-related layoffs expected to surge and a demand for items and services expected to rise, several big-name companies are hiring in a big way nationally.

Amazon announced this week that it will hire 100,000 new full and part-time jobs for in its fulfillment centers and delivery network nationwide to meet the surge in demand from people relying on the company’s service, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public.

Approximately 4,600 of those jobs will be created in Ohio, according to an Amazon spokesman, but it’s still not clear how many of those positions would be available at the company’s 1.3-million-square foot fulfillment center in Monroe.

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Amazon said it knows many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of the crisis.

“We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back,” Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, previously said.

The online retailer said it will also temporarily raise pay by $2 an hour through the end of April for hourly employees. That includes workers at its warehouses, delivery centers and Whole Foods grocery stores, all of whom make at least $15 an hour. Employees in the United Kingdom and other European countries will get a similar raise.

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Kroger plans to hire 10,000 additional workers in the coming weeks to help stock and clean stores, according to our news partner, WCPO-TV. Applicants can visit jobs.kroger.com to apply.

Kroger is giving associates a gift of a $25 gift card for work during the busy recent period. It will also pay any full-time employees for 14 days if they are are forced to quarantine at home.

Kroger hopes to have some sense of normalcy return in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the company asks shoppers to just shop for one week’s worth of groceries at a time, so everyone has a chance to get what they need.

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Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, said late Thursday that it plans to hire 150,000 U.S. hourly workers for its stores and distribution centers through the end of May as online orders surge. The jobs are temporary, but many will become permanent, said spokesman Dan Bartlett.

He said that the company is reaching out to industry groups in the restaurant and hospitality industry, both of which are getting slammed by lockdowns and travel bans.

Target Corp. said Friday it will give a $2 an hour wage increase to its 300,000-plus workers who have been scrambling to help customers. The pay bump will be effective at least through May 2. It’s also begun offering workers who are pregnant, 65 years old or older, or who have underlying health risks, access to paid leave for up to 30 days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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