Amazon hiring 1,500 for its new grocery store concept opening in the Chicago area

Amazon is hiring to fill 1,500 positions in the Chicago area for its new grocery store concept, the company announced Tuesday.

Amazon Fresh, the technology giant’s new grocery store concept, is opening four stores in Naperville, Bloomingdale, Oak Lawn and Schaumburg.

Full-time and part-time positions, including managers, will be available. Employees will be cross-trained in everything from customer service to stocking shelves, packing customer orders and preparing food offerings for customers each day. Pay will start at $15 per hour and will include benefits, according to the company’s announcement.

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The Chicago market is the largest announced expansion area for Amazon Fresh outside of California, where the company has announced stores in five cities.

The first Amazon Fresh opened in August in Woodland Hills, California, promising low prices and prepared foods made in store, according to Amazon. The stores will use Amazon technology, including the Amazon Dash Cart and Alexa, to introduce new ways to make grocery shopping more convenient by enabling customers to find food items more quickly or skip checkout lines.

The expansion comes as Amazon’s other brick-and-mortar grocery store investment, Whole Foods Markets, has seen dwindling foot traffic during the pandemic. Trips to Whole Foods in September were down 25% from a year earlier, according to Placer.ai, which tallies retail foot traffic from more than 30 million mobile devices.

Although most grocery stores have seen a decline during the pandemic, Placer.ai found the traffic decline at Whole Foods to be much steeper than other chains such as Walmart or Trader Joe’s.

Amazon did not announce opening dates or addresses for the new grocery stores. The increase in workers will add to the 23,000 people already employed by the company in Illinois.

Interested candidates can learn more and apply online at www.amazonstores.jobs.