Amazon.com Inc. said today that it will recruit an additional 75,000 workers on top of the 100,000 new hires it has brought aboard since mid-March to cope with the explosive growth of online grocery shopping.

The retailing giant has increased its order capacity by more than 60% in response to the coronavirus pandemic. However, its fulfillment network is still under strain amid surging demand. The company on Sunday started putting new customers interested in its grocery delivery service on a wait list to free up capacity for existing users.

These steps are the latest in a series of measures Amazon has taken to address the rapid growth in the number of people doing their grocery shopping online. A few weeks ago, the company paused shipments of most third-party seller merchandise to focus on delivering essential household items. More recently, at the start of this month, Amazon implemented new safety policies to protect warehouse staff against COVID-19 following calls from employees and legislators.

Amazon’s efforts to adjust its operations for increasing e-commerce demand have also affected Whole Foods. About a third of the company’s 480 or so Whole Foods stores in the U.S. now provide grocery pickup, enabling customers to place orders online and pick them up at the store.

The changes and accelerated hiring may be starting to ease the strain on Amazon’s supply chain. Citing sources, the Wall Street Journal reported today that Amazon will once again allow third-party sellers to sell nonessential items via its marketplace next week, a sign the company is getting a better handle on the growing demand.

On top of hiring 75,000 more workers, Amazon said that it will launch grocery pickup options in more Whole Foods Location over the coming weeks. Plus, the company has plans to launch a feature that will allow customers to book grocery delivery windows online on a first-come, first-served basis.

If demand continues to grow at the same pace as in the last few weeks or at similar levels, Amazon might launch yet another major hiring drive to bolster its fulfillment workforce. The company is apparently also looking at ways to increase the number of physical facilities where it can process orders. According to CNBC, the first store of a new grocery chain Amazon was set to launch this year has been converting into a warehouse for processing online purchases. 

Bank of America Corp. told investors in a note earlier this month that Amazon could generate as much as $4 billion in additional revenue this year.

Photo: Amazon