Amazon Announces Plan to Create New Jobs; Shares Gain

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) has unveiled its plans to create corporate and tech jobs in two of its most prominent locations over the next few years. Shares of the provider of online retail shopping and cloud computing services rose 2% to close at $3,408.34 on Tuesday.

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Hiring Plan

Amazon’s move is part of its multi-city expansion plan across the country and company. It plans to create 3,000 jobs across Austin, Chicago, and Phoenix. As part of its hiring plan, through innovative new programs, Amazon is creating opportunities for all levels of candidates to join the company.

Phoenix Tech Hub

Amazon will create over 550 jobs in Tempe, Arizona, to expand the company’s Phoenix Tech Hub. With the employment of software development engineers, senior solution architects, project managers, and business analysts, the company plans to grow its Consumer Retail, Amazon Web Services, and Operations teams. Currently, more than 5,000 tech and corporate employees are working at the hub.

Amazon plans to create additional new office space and has signed on to a 63,000-square-foot expansion at its existing offices in Tempe. The new offices are expected to open in late 2022.

An official at Amazon’s Phoenix Tech Hub, Doug Welzel, said, “We’ve experienced amazing growth over the last few years, creating jobs and economic opportunity for the wider community. We’ve already created more than 5,000 corporate and tech jobs in the Phoenix area and we are excited to continue investing here.”

Austin Tech Hub

As per the company’s plan, over 2,000 jobs will be created in Austin, Texas to expand the company’s Austin Tech Hub. The new roles of senior data engineers, senior technical program managers, user experience designers, and financial analysts will support the teams at Operations Technology, Amazon Retail, Amazon Business, and Amazon Web Services. Currently, more than 3,000 tech and corporate employees are employed at the hub.

Additional new office space has been planned for new roles, which is expected to open in early 2024.

Site lead officer at Amazon’s Austin Tech Hub, Doug Gray, said, “Our continued investment in Austin is a testament to the amazing talent and amenities that this city has to offer. With more than 3,000 jobs already created and more than 1,000 corporate and technology roles currently available, we’re looking forward to continue offering exciting career opportunities to local residents.”

Wall Street’s Take

Recently, UBS analyst Lloyd Walmsley maintained a Buy rating on the stock and a price target of $4,700 (37.9% upside potential) on the stock.

Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 30 unanimous Buys. The average Amazon price target of $4,127.50 implies 21.1% upside potential from current levels. Shares have gained 6.3% over the past year.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (NYSE: SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into Amazon’s performance this quarter. According to the tool, the Amazon website recorded a 26.53% decrease in global visits in November compared to the same period last year. Also, a quarter-to-date comparison showed a decrease of 28.58% compared to Q4 2020, and the year-to-date website traffic decline stands at 5.09%.