Amazon plans for 4,000 seasonal job openings in Kentucky amid labor shortage

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Amazon is attempting to avoid a harsh winter. The online retailer anticipates 4,000 seasonal job openings in Kentucky, with 2,400 in Louisville alone.They’re attempting to fill the vacancies by providing flexibility.

“Some people want to work just a few days a week,” Amazon Global Operations Human Resources VP Ofori Agboka said. “They want to work a few hours during the day they want work some hours at night, they want to work a few hours or days on the weekend. And that’s one of our strengths.”

Life during the pandemic created new worker priorities and labor market observers describe flexibility as one of the most sought-after perks of any new job.

“Whether they stay with children of with elderly adults they are responsible for, or maybe they just need more time for themselves,” One Southern Indiana President Wendy Dant Chesser said, “I think there’s a lot of people making decisions today about their own employment that are different from what it looked like pre-pandemic.”

A statement from Amazon identified Kentucky and Indiana as among a dozen states where the company’s need for workers is greatest.

Warehouse workers can now expect to earn an hourly wage of $18 to $21 depending on shifts. There are also signing bonuses of up to $3,000, but there is no guarantee that will be enough in what has become a very tight labor market.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce determined the state is approximately 90,000 workers short of where the labor market was prior to the pandemic.

The positions in Kentucky and Indiana are part of 150,000 jobs offered nationally by Amazon.

Last month, UPS announced it was also hiring 100,000 seasonal workers.

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