Amazon to hire 150,000 workers ahead of holiday season

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would hire 150,000 employees in full-time, seasonal and part-time roles across its operations in the United States ahead of the upcoming holiday season.

The world's largest online retailer, which hired the same number of workers last year September, said the new roles are for packing, picking, sorting and shipping orders, and the workers will be eligible for a sign-on bonus of up to $3,000 in some locations.

Amazon raised its average hourly pay to more than $19 last week, compared with $18 offered last year.

The wage hike would likely help the company attract and retain workers in a tightening U.S. labor market as the peak season for gifting approaches.

Big-box retailer Target Corp said in September it would hire up to 100,000 seasonal workers, while rival Walmart Inc is looking to add 40,000 workers in seasonal and full-time roles.

Although the retailers, already grappling with billions of dollars worth of unsold stock, have taken a more cautious view of this year's holiday season as consumers facing decades-high inflation cut back on discretionary spending.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)