Amazon to fill 50,000 jobs, also hiring Aussie speakers

Employees of Amazon India are seen behind a glass bearing the company's logo inside its office in Bengaluru, India, August 14, 2015. Reuters/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

Amazon will host a job fair on August 2 with 50,000 US jobs on offer. "Amazon Jobs Day" looks to fill tens of thousands of full-time jobs for its fulfilment centres across the United States.

The company said it would make thousands of "on-the-spot" offers to jobseekers who apply during the fair. Amazon’s plan to hire thousands of people was first announced earlier this year.

The Amazon jobs fair is a chance for jobseekers to secure a job in the company’s packing, sorting and customer service departments. According to a media release, candidates can also apply for managerial positions.

Those working full-time jobs at Amazon get access to health insurance, disability insurance, company stock and retirement savings plans. Those working part-time jobs or workers who work more than 20 hours per week are offered funding toward medical insurance, life and disability insurance and dental and vision insurance, the company said.

Wanted: Aussie speakers

Amazon is hiring a linguist with an Australian background to join its data team, according to a job description on its website. The job will involve transcribing, annotating speech and language data. The role is also likely to involve research for Amazon Echo, Amazon’s voice-recognition device. The device helps users check the weather, stream music and plan a to-do list through personal assistant Alexa.

The job opening for Aussie speakers is one of the several openings for linguists. Amazon is also looking to hire people familiar with Canadian French, American English and Canadian English. The Australian accent is distinctive from American English in that it is non-rhotic.

Amazon jobs fair

The scheduled Amazon jobs fair next week will run from 8 am to noon US time at several Amazon centres. Jobseekers can apply in the following centres: Baltimore, Maryland; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Etna, Ohio; Fall River, Massachusetts; Hebron, Kentucky; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Kent, Washington; Robbinsville, New Jersey; Romeoville, Illinois; and Whitestown, Indiana.

Off-site events will also be conducted in Buffalo, New York and Oklahoma City. In April, Amazon announced it would hire more than 30,000 part-time workers over the next year. Most of the jobs available are warehouse roles.

The company also announced in January that it would add more than 100,000 full-time jobs over the next year and a half. The move would bring its total US work force to 280,000. Several new full-time jobs will be in charge of answering phones and in warehouses.

How Australia uses artificial intelligence in business