Amazon Boosted Illinois Workforce by 72% in 2020
Amazon bucked the trend among employers in Illinois during 2020, adding 15,000 employees to increase its statewide headcount by 72%. Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the Seattle-based company met a surge in online shopping on the part of housebound consumers by opening new warehouses across the Chicago area, and will continue doing so through 2021, albeit at a slower pace.
The company, which employs about 1.3 million people globally, also said it added employees in Illinois at corporate offices, its Whole Foods Market grocery chain, Amazon Books and Five Star stores.
By the end of 2020, more than 36,000 people worked for Amazon and its various businesses in Illinois, according to the company.
Although Amazon doesn’t break out Chicago-area figures, Crain’s reported that it could now be the largest private-sector employer in metro Chicago, rivaling Advocate Aurora Health, which had about 26,000 employees at the end of 2020.
- ◦Economy