Amazon reaches employment goal; to hire 75,000 more

April 13 (UPI) -- Amazon reached its goal of hiring 100,000 new employees to address increased demand during the pandemic and now wants to hire 75,000 more, the company said Monday.

The e-commerce giant said it placed those new employees in full-time and part-time positions across the United States to support a spike in demand as many U.S. residents remain sheltered in place because of coronavirus restrictions.

"We continue to see increased demand as our teams support their communities, and are going to continue to hire, creating an additional 75,000 jobs to help serve customers during this unprecedented time," Amazon said in its blog.

"We know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis and we welcome anyone out of work to join us at Amazon until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back," Amazon said.

Amazon said its total investment in hiring new employees will reach more than $500 million.

Amazon stock soared more than 4 percent in trading Monday morning on news the online retailer is starting a second hiring spree. The increase brought it near is all-time record of $2,170.22 per share.

Kroger was among grocery stores that announced last month they were hiring as well to meet the demand as people are cooking at home and staying in during the pandemic.