Instacart is among the few companies that are on a hiring spree in the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The delivery start-up said it plans to hire an additional 250,000 ‘full-service shoppers’ to meet the surge in customer demand for grocery delivery during COVID-19. The company said that the hiring in an effort to ‘get back’ to same-day delivery across its platform.
Instacart treats full-service shoppers as independent contractors. In March, the company announced plans to hire 300,000 additional full-service shoppers to help meet increased customer demand. The latest hiring is in addition to the previous announcement.
Instacart said that the new hiring will be focused specifically on the areas with the highest demand currently, including regions in California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.
In places where Instacart has enough workers to meet customer demand, it will reintroduce waitlists for applications to ensure it is balancing the number of workers it brings on in each region with customer demand in that area.
Instacart said that its workers will soon have access to a daily, in-app wellness check to help determine if they have any COVID-19 related symptoms.
Instacart will offer up to 14 days of pay for any full-service shopper or part-time employee, including in-store shopper, shift lead, site manager, or Instacart Care agent, who is diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed in individual mandatory isolation or quarantine.
The company had introduced a bonus payment for its employees that were initially offered for hours worked through April 15.
The company is now extending the bonuses for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. Bonuses will be decided based on the number of hours worked and will range from $25 to $200 monthly.
Further, Instacart is providing personal protective equipment to all active workers, The Company is distributing tens of thousands of health and safety kits each week that includes a face mask and hand sanitizer.
Among other companies that are currently hiring, Amazon said in mid-March that it is creating 100,000 new full and part-time positions across the U.S. to meet the surge in demand from people relying on its service following the coronavirus outbreak. The new job openings will be in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and its delivery network.
Walmart said in late March that it plans to hire 150,000 employees to fill roles across its supply chain, including in distribution and fulfillment centers.
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