No Shortage Of Applicants For Amazon's 3,000 Seasonal Jobs In IE
MORENO VALLEY (CBSLA) — Online retail giant Amazon said this week it needs 3,000 part-time, seasonal employees to work at its Inland Empire facilities during the busy holiday season, and locals are champing at the bit to get those jobs.
Most of the workers are needed at Amazon's fulfillment centers in San Bernardino and Moreno Valley, where Danelle Dolen was hoping to score one of the many part-time gigs in the area.
"I need a job! They're hard to come by," Dolen told CBS2 News. She was one of the many people that showed up at Amazon's "Moval" job fair Tuesday, and sentiment resonated across the event hall.
Many people at the hiring told CBS2 they'd been out of work for a while. With the prospect of overtime hours and a relatively competitive $11.75 an hour starting wage, it seemed as busy a hiring period as the upcoming, hectic holiday season itself.
"It's kind of hard," Marvin Johnson of nearby Riverside told CBS2. "I have my degree in respiratory therapy, and I'm looking for a job there, too, but I figure, 'Hey, anybody who's hiring — I'm here.'"
An "Amazon Peak hiring alert" was posted on its jobs site, showing positions for sorters and warehouse workers in the cities of Chino and Redlands, as well.
Though the jobs are temporary, people like Kayla Wilson, also of Riverside, seem OK with it.
"This is my first job, and I know it's seasonal, but that's all I need," said Wilson.
Amazon said some of its seasonal employees have received permanent positions.
The Seattle-based company held its hiring event at its "Moval Conference Center" Tuesday, and will have another one Wednesday, November 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 14075 Frederick St., Moreno Valley.
The City of Moreno Valley tweeted there will also be on-the-spot hiring. Amazon says the people who applied Tuesday will start as soon as background checks and drug tests can be done.