Amazon Germany hires 12,000 seasonal workers ahead of holidays

Amazon has hired around 12,000 seasonal workers in Germany ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas shopping rush, the company has said, marking an increase of roughly 3,000 compared with last year.

The temporary staff will work at the company’s logistics sites, performing roles such as package sorting. Delivery drivers, who operate as contractors, are not included.

Most seasonal staff began in October, with the remainder starting in November. Contracts run until the end of the year. The hiring surge is partly due to new logistics sites, including two distribution centres.

Amazon Germany employs around 40,000 permanent staff. It said the additional seasonal workforce is necessary to handle the expected surge in orders during the peak holiday period.

Amazon has operated its own delivery service in Germany for 10 years, during which it has delivered roughly five billion packages.

According to the German Federal Network Agency, Amazon is the country’s second-largest parcel carrier after DHL, handling between 15% and 25% of deliveries.

Seasonal fluctuations are common among online retailers and parcel services. DHL also temporarily increases its workforce during peak periods.

Jeff Bezos returns as co-lead of AI Startup in first operational role since Amazon

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, appears to be gearing up once again, as the billionaire is partly backing a new AI startup called Project Prometheus that has raised $6.2 billion in funding. He will take on duties as co-chief executive of the new startup, The New York Times reported, citing several sources acquainted with the project.

Bezos will share the position with Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist who previously co-founded and led Google’s life sciences division. Bajaj also co-founded Verily, a biotech startup owned by Alphabet, and Foresite Labs, an AI-oriented branch of investment firm Foresite Capital.

The NYT report mentions he recently left Foresite to establish Prometheus. This marks Jeff Bezos’ return to operational roles for the first time since leaving Amazon in 2021.