Amazon seeks 1,000 Spokane-area seasonal workers

E-commerce giant Amazon announced Friday that it is seeking to hire about 1,000 seasonal workers in the Spokane area to help with the expected sales push during the holidays.

“Amazon is creating 250,000 seasonal positions nationwide for the upcoming holiday season, including 5,500 jobs here in Washington,” Amazon spokesperson Farah Jad said in a news release. “These roles offer flexible scheduling options with an average wage of more than $19 per hour.”

Amazon currently operates a massive West Plains fulfillment center, called GEG1, near Spokane International Airport. That facility, at 10010 W. Geiger Blvd., employs several hundred workers.

After it opened in 2020, Amazon confirmed a year later that it would open a 1.3 million-square-foot facility in Spokane Valley.

That fulfillment center, at 18007 E. Garland Ave., cycles through orders for bulk cleaning supplies, paper goods, patio furniture, pet food and outdoor sports equipment.

The company employs about 5,000 full-time and part-time workers at both facilities, Jad said. That puts the e-commerce giant among the largest employers in the Spokane region.

Asked what types of jobs the company is seeking to fill, Jad said its hiring for several roles.

“We’re offering a diverse range of roles for the seasonal expansion – from picking, packing, shipping, and more – open to people of all backgrounds and experience levels,” she said.

In addition to the new jobs, Amazon is pumping about $1 billion to raise pay for hourly fulfillment and transportation employees nationwide, according to the release.

As a result, total compensation now averages more than $30 an hour, but that figure also includes benefits.

Seasonal employees also are eligible for pay increases. For example, those workers who have been with the company for three years see an average pay increase of 18%, according to the release.

In the past 15 years, Amazon said it has invested about $350 billion in to facilities in Washington state, including building and pay to employees. During the same time period, the company has invested more than $1.5 trillion in facilities across the nation and in the Evergreen state.

It also noted that Amazon last year sold more than 406 million items produced by independent sellers from the state.

“Together, these announcements underscore Amazon’s ongoing commitment to Washington – creating jobs, raising wages and investing in the communities where we operate,” Jad said in the release.

For more information about available positions, go to hiring.amazon.com