Amazon, in the past four weeks, has already hired over 100, as a result of the increase in demand it is seeing due to the global coronavirus pandemic.  The company is further looking to add 75,000 more workers in the U.S., across both full- and part-time positions. 

The company has also revealed the extended hiring efforts in a blog post on Monday, where it also announced that it will be upping its total spend on pay increases to over $500 million in light of growing need.

The company is optimistic about its hiring efforts can is hopeful that it can help mitigate some of the job loss and furloughing arising as a part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon positioned its openings as an option for anyone looking to seek work “until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.”

The company says it’s going to continue to bolster its investment in “safety, pay, and benefits” for all new and existing employees. The online retail giant has detailed some of its efforts in this regard, including rolling out temperature checks across fulfillment centers and Whole Foods stores, as well as distributing masks to employees and conducting daily audits of these practices.

Amazon has lifted salaries and safety measures since the beginning of March, increasing base pay in the UK by £2 per hour, doubling overtime awards, providing protective equipment and offer paid sick leave for workers who contract COVID-19. It estimated that it had spent $350m (£279m) so far on extra pay and would now spend another $150m.

However, The big question for Amazon to answer is whether these employees are going to simply be let go once the pandemic is over.