IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Amazon isn’t done hiring in the Inland Empire.
One month after the online retail company announced it would hire 1,000 people to work at its mega-warehouses in Riverside, San Bernardino and Moreno Valley, Amazon officials have said they will add another 1,000 jobs at those facilities.
The announcement was good news for the region, which is still recovering from the recession, as it demonstrates Amazon expects to thrive in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
It’s especially good news for Moreno Valley, which figures to get its share of those jobs at the 1.2 million-square foot fulfillment center that opened in the city last year, said Mike Lee, Moreno Valley’s economic development director.
“We’ve been working on this for awhile,” said Lee, who said Moreno Valley helped Amazon recruit workers through its “Hire MoVal” program. “We did everything we could to help them fill these jobs. We’re all about job creation, and that’s what this is.”
Anyone looking for a job was required to apply online. Those who were hired were summoned to the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center, where they were told of their hiring and their new jobs duties.
Moreno Valley’s unemployment rate is now 6.6 percent, a number that figures to improve with the second wave of Amazon hiring. During the worst of the recession, the city’s jobless rate topped 17 percent, Lee said.
The new Amazon workers will be paid “competitive hourly wages” – believed to start at $12 an hour – and will receive a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, a 401(k) package and shares of company stock, according to a city statement.
