AMAZON HIRING SPREE
Trump’s pressure on firms bears fruit
The hiring spree could appease incoming US president Donald Trump, who tangled with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during the election campaign
Seattle/New York — Amazon.com revealed plans to hire more than 100,000 people in the US in the next 18 months, grabbing the spotlight as president-elect Donald Trump pushes companies to employ more US citizens. The staffing-up is not particularly surprising for a company moving into multiple categories from groceries, hardware and video to fashion and cloud services. But the move could appease Trump, who tangled with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during the election campaign. "It’s a very powerful headline, and the timing certainly makes Trump look good," said Ivan Feinseth, an analyst at Tigress Financial Partners. "It’s going to happen in the first year-and-half of his administration. Bezos couldn’t have set him up any better to look good — timing is everything." Bezos was among a group of leading technology industry executives who met with Trump in December in Manhattan to discuss points of concern. Jobs, immigration and China topped the agenda. Since then, several companies — from IBM t...
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