Amazon announced on Monday its plans to hire 100,000 additional workers across North America as it tries to keep up with the increase of online orders.

The retail giant plans to hire both full-time and part-time associates across the United States and Canada with a starting wage of at least $15 per hour with benefits. It includes a sign-on bonus of up to $1,000 in selected cities.

The hiring plan comes in addition to the openings for 33,000 corporate and technology jobs announced last week.

According to senior vice president of worldwide operations at Amazon, Dave Clark, the majority of roles will be at the company's 100 new warehouse and operations sites opening this month.

The company has been expanding its reach to provide improved services to customers in their communities. The company has been receiving numbers of orders since the beginning of the pandemic.

The firm quickly announced its first hiring spree in March to keep up with the overload of orders as many people were forced to stay home and shop online.

The company's revenue increase by 40 percent to $ 88.9 billion, compared to the $63.4 billion recorded a year ago. Amazon also reportedly invested $350 million to fund near-term wage increase for its workers in the United States, Canada, and Europe through April.

Clark said getting a priority item to your doorstep is vital as communities enforce social distancing, especially to elderly and others with preexisting conditions.

"We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year," Clark said in a report.

The company said U.S. workers would receive an additional $2 per worked hour beyond the company's $15 minimum wage. It added that employees in Canada and some European countries would receive similar increases through the end of April.

Amazon said in March that it is following recommended health practices such as social distancing to protect the public health during the pandemic.

Amazon is inviting workers from the industries most affected by the pandemic to apply. These industries include restaurant workers.

Clark said they know many people have been economically affected as jobs in hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed because of the pandemic.

He added that the company wanted those people to know that they welcome them on their teams until things return to normal, and their past employers can bring them back.

Amazon earlier announced its plans to invest $18 billion to help small and medium-sized businesses grow their sales.

"This new investment will go toward putting a spotlight on the diversity of small businesses selling in Amazon's store, positioning them for increased sales during Prime Day and throughout Q4," the company said in a report.

Amazon noted that despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has had on small businesses, many Americans selling through their platform have experienced continued growth.

The company added that global third-party sales from these businesses had reached over $2 billion during last year's Prime Day.

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