Amazon Uses Healthcare and Banking to Woo More Holiday Workers

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The eCommerce giant made that announcement Tuesday (Oct. 20) as it began its annual holiday recruitment effort, aiming to hire 300,000 workers for the season, 50,000 more than last year’s goal.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, seasonal employees working at least 30 hours a week will be offered coverage on their first day, Amazon said.

“That means anyone who joins us in these qualifying seasonal roles now or in the future will have access to healthcare—whether they join us for the holidays or at another point in the year since we hire seasonal employees year-round,” Amazon’s announcement added.

In addition, Amazon is offering a new benefit called “Day 1 Financial,” which gives qualified workers and their families banking through First Tech Federal Credit Union, a membership those employees can keep for life.

Amazon is looking for workers to fill seasonal, part-time and full-time positions, with job postings due be posted each week from October through December.

Seasonal workers earn $20 per hour on average with the opportunity to move into full-time roles. Full-time operations employees start at a minimum of $20 an hour, with average hourly pay approaching $24 an hour, not including benefits.

This is the time of year when many companies announce plans to expand their workforces to meet holiday demand. Amazon’s 300,000 worker goal is up from the 250,000 holiday employees it sought last year.

UPS said earlier this month it hopes to hire 100,000 seasonal employees around the country, a figure that is around 9% lower than the company’s holiday shipping season target for 2025.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a September blog post that seasonal hiring announcements by retailers “remain thin,” with just a handful of companies publicizing their plans so far.

Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, wrote that while retail sales rose 1.2% in August, the biggest retailers were not making large, early hiring commitments.

“Retailers are leaning on automation, existing associates and on-demand pools before hiring net-new seasonal workers,” Challenger said in the post.

In related news, new PYMNTS Intelligence research—from the report “Holiday Retail’s AI Test Starts With Who Gets to Hit Buy”—finds AI is already transforming how consumers discover products and whittle down their choices.

“But the path from recommendation to purchase is far less settled,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month. “Consumers may welcome help finding the right gift, comparing prices or locating a deal. They may be much less willing to let software choose the seller, select the payment method or complete the purchase without their approval.”