Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been hiring at tremendous speed surpassing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) for the first time in terms of employee count. The online retailer crossed the 100,000 employee mark, with 109,800 full-time and part-time employees on its books, all over the world as of September 30, according to a report from GeekWire. Headcount is more than 12,000 compared to the second quarter.
More employees, but comparison unfair
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s employee count also crossed the six digit milestone recently, with total headcount of 100,518 worldwide, but it lags Amazon for the first time meaning that Amazon has a larger direct workforce than the tech biggie.
However, the comparison cannot be said to be apt, as total employees in Amazon are inclusive of employees who fulfill warehouse orders apart from just those who develop and support the products. This diversity in employee levels make Amazon different than other tech companies.
Neither Microsoft nor Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) include temporary or contract workers in their public employee count.
Amazon suffering losses, rising headcounts to blame?
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) posted grim numbers for the straight second quarter this year. One reason cited for the company suffering loss is the massive size and increase in employees, cost of which is affecting earnings. Rising headcount can be attributed to Amazon’s expanding warehouse network in the U.S., including one in Tracy, California where the company may set up its fresh grocery delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area along with more domestic warehouses coming up this year.
Additionally, the online retailer is focusing on international markets like India where it has gained substantial ground. Amazon takes the least time to deliver goods ordered by customers, which is adding to its advantage, and fueling further need of employees
The online retailer is also opening a new campus in hometown Seattle on the northern edge of downtown, but has not yet revealed the number of employees it will take in. Microsoft employs around 43,000 people in the region.
Hiring to continue
From Amazon’s website it can be gathered that the company’s hiring spree will continue with 271 job pages found on the site, according to a report from BusinessInsider. However, getting a job at Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a tough nut to crack compared to other companies who are paying high salaries for top technical talent. One of the applicants described how he underwent eight hours of job interviews, and talked to nine different people for a single vacancy in Amazon’s Lab 126 in Cupertino which has 19 pages under its job openings and over 185 vacancies.
