E-commerce juggernaut Amazon announced on Friday, October 6, that it has bolstered its workforce with over 100,000 direct and indirect seasonal positions to accommodate the anticipated surge in demand during its much-anticipated festive shopping extravaganza, the 'Great Indian Festival,' set to kick off on October 8.
These new hires have been strategically distributed across major Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Chennai, as per the company's official statement.
Amazon Prime members will gain early access to the sales starting from October 7. Amazon has already successfully onboarded a substantial portion of its recruits into its existing network, where they will play pivotal roles in picking, packing, shipping, and delivering customer orders with utmost precision and safety, the company confirmed.
Among the fresh hires are dedicated customer service associates, some of whom will participate in Amazon's innovative virtual customer service model.
Akhil Saxena, Vice President of Operations for APAC/MENA/LATAM and Worldwide Customer Service Head at Amazon, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "We are welcoming an additional workforce of over 100,000 to strengthen our fulfillment, delivery, and customer service capabilities and ensure a great shopping experience for millions of customers who are looking forward to shopping with us." He also underscored the vital role that seasonal hiring plays in providing work opportunities, financial independence, and a boost to the festive economy.
As the festive fervor continues to rise, Amazon India proudly boasts a network of fulfillment centers spread across 15 states, offering a staggering 43 million cubic feet of storage space for seller inventory, which benefits over 1.3 million sellers across the country. Additionally, Amazon India's expansive infrastructure includes sortation centers in 19 states and a comprehensive network of nearly 2,000 Amazon-operated and partner delivery stations.
To expedite shipping services across the nation, Amazon India has recently inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreements with India Post and Indian Railways.
It's worth noting that Amazon India's arch-rival, Flipkart, is also set to commence its 'The Big Billion Days' sale on October 8. Last week, Amazon rescheduled the starting date of its 'Great Indian Festival' sale to October 8 from the previously announced October 10.
Ahead of the festive shopping spree, Flipkart, owned by Walmart, has also declared its intention to create 100,000 direct and indirect seasonal positions to fortify its supply chain and meet the burgeoning customer demand during its flagship seasonal sale.
Over the years, the festive season sales have evolved into a pivotal event for Indian e-commerce companies, with attractive deals and discounts serving as a key attraction for shoppers.
Just yesterday, Meesho reported receiving approximately 10 million orders from its pre-festive season sale and touted the addition of over 5 million new customers.
As per consulting firm Redseer, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of India's e-commerce sector is projected to experience substantial growth, rising by 18-20% to reach INR 90,000 crore during this year's festive season, up from INR 76,000 crore in the previous year.
