Amazon India creates 1.1 lakh seasonal jobs

Amazon said it has created direct and indirect jobs in cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chennai

As part of an intensive recruitment drive, the company says it has hired “thousands of female associates” and an additional 1,900 people with disabilities

Meanwhile, the CCI found that Amazon India, like Flipkart, was violating antitrust laws and promoting certain offers and sellers.

With the festive season approaching, Amazon India said that over 1.1 lakh seasonal “job vacancies” have been created in the country.

In a statement on Thursday (September 12), the e-commerce giant said direct and indirect jobs have been created in cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai.

The company said it had employed “thousands of female associates” and an additional 1,900 disabled people as part of the recruitment drive.

“We are committed to providing fast and reliable deliveries to customers across every supported pin code in India this festive season. To achieve this, we have hired over 1.1 lakh additional people to strengthen our fulfillment and logistics network and ensure that we can seamlessly handle the increased demand…” said Abhinav Singh, Vice President, Operations, Amazon India.

Commenting on the development, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Amazon’s commitment to create over 1 lakh seasonal jobs across India is a commendable step towards strengthening the country’s workforce during the festive season…”

Meanwhile, according to a report, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found that Amazon India and Flipkart are violating antitrust laws and promoting certain offers and sellers.

But this isn’t the first time Amazon India has found itself in the crosshairs of regulators. Earlier this year, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on its own initiative took up a press report that detailed allegations of labour law violations at Amazon India’s warehouse in Manesar.

The report, citing factory workers, claimed that women workers had to stand on duty for nine hours a day and added that there were no toilets available for women workers at the Manesar unit. Another worker reportedly claimed that he was asked to take an oath that he would not take toilet or water breaks until the unloading of parcels from six trucks was completed.

The major e-commerce company later admitted that there had been a lack of safety practices at the warehouse and said it would take immediate corrective action to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant has hired workers in preparation for the upcoming festive season, during which e-commerce companies will see a significant increase in online sales. However, with the rise in popularity of fast-paced commerce, Amazon will not only be competing with the likes of Flipkart and Meesho, but also This festive season, Swiggy Instamart, Zomato-owned Blinkit and Zepto.

Amazon India says it has 1.4 million sellers on its platform, operates multiple fulfillment centers across 15 states and has 43 million cubic feet of warehouse space.