This will grow Amazon's workforce to 7,000 employees in South Africa.
Amazon announced it will hire 3,000 people in South Africa to provide 24/7 support to Amazon customers, mostly in North America and Europe. These roles will range from customer service associates to technical experts and, upon completion of the hiring process, will grow the world’s largest online retailer’s workforce to 7,000 employees in South Africa,
“We are thrilled with the talent in South Africa and we are excited to add 3,000 skilled jobs this year in Customer Service and to help keep people working during this unprecedented time,” said Amazon South Africa customer service director Andrew Raichlin in a statement.
“The new jobs reflect our continued commitment to South Africa’s economic development, and I am proud to have South Africa be a growing part of our ability to deliver a great experience to Amazon customers around the world and provide employees with the opportunity to work safely from home.”
In April, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the opening of its first data centre operation in Cape Town (AWS Africa).
Amazon’s presence in South Africa dates back to 2004 when it opened a development centre and later expanded in other parts of the country to support its network technology and software. It added customer service operations in 2010, but the company still does not offer e-commerce services in the country.
Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Ebrahim Patel said that he welcomed the decision by Amazon to locate more of its services in South Africa.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digital transition of work, and this decision by Amazon to locate these jobs in South Africa shows our ability to offer a good value proposition,” he said.
“Government has focused part of our incentive programme on the industry, and with our talent, strong ICT infrastructure and digital capabilities, we aim to secure thousands of more jobs like these in years to come.”
