Amazon has announced its commitment to hire 5,000 refugees in the United States by the end of 2024. The company will provide specialized support and resources to these employees through its Welcome Door program.
The program offers refugees and humanitarian immigrants in the U.S. various benefits, including government filing fee reimbursements, citizenship application support, legal resources, and mentorship. Available since April, it also provides access to skills training, college tuition, and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses through Amazon's Career Choice program, which employees can access after 90 days. Amazon announced the hiring initiative on September 19 at the U.S. Business Summit on Refugees, hosted by The Tent Partnership for Refugees, which brought together over 100 companies supporting displaced individuals.
According to Amazon's Economic Impact Report, since 2010, Amazon has invested $28 billion in Illinois, contributing to the state's infrastructure and employee compensation. These investments have improved Illinois' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $31 billion and created 40,000 full- and part-time jobs as of January 2023. Additionally, Amazon supports 50,600 indirect jobs based on the Input-Output methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The company partners with over 15,000 independent sellers, primarily small and medium-sized businesses.
Amazon's presence in Illinois includes 27 fulfillment and sortation centers, 16 delivery stations, one grocery hub, one air hub, 26 Whole Foods Market locations, five Amazon Go store locations, four Amazon Hub Locker+ locations, two Prime Now fulfillment centers, nine Amazon Fresh retail locations, two wind farms, six solar farms, and one on-site solar location.
Amazon provides a range of services including online and in-person shopping; delivery of fresh produce; media distribution; operation of devices such as Alexa and Fire TV; cloud solutions through Amazon Web Services (AWS); logistics; customer service; and entertainment through platforms like Amazon Originals, Prime Video, and Audible.