Over the summer, Amazon converted most of the 175,000 temporary workers to permanent employees and ended the extra pay bumps for all workers. Since then, it has continued with waves of hiring.
The company has also almost tripled the number of U.S. warehouses used for last-mile deliveries this year, said Marc Wulfraat, founder of the logistics consulting firm MWPVL International, who tracks Amazon’s operations. The delivery drivers are usually contractors, so Amazon does not disclose their numbers in regulatory filings.
“They have built their own UPS in the last several years,” Mr. Wulfraat said. “This pace of change has never been seen before.”
Ms. Williams said Amazon also built relationships with companies that were reducing staff, such as Uber, American Airlines and Marriott, to promote its hiring.
“We dedicated a group that did nothing but connect with organizations who were furloughing people, whether it was temporary or permanent,” she said. “That allowed us to take a skilled, quality work force, and very quickly and easily move them into opportunities that were appropriate at Amazon.”
The effort has been aided by 1,000 technology workers who create software for Amazon’s human resources teams, many building portals and algorithms that automate hiring, she said. Prospective employees can find jobs, apply and be hired entirely online, without talking to a single person.
To grow so much, Amazon also needs to think long term, Ms. Williams said. As a result, she said, the company was already working with preschools to establish the foundation of tech education, so that “as our hiring demand unfolds over the next 10 years, that pipeline is there and ready.”
Michael Corkery contributed reporting from New York.