Amazon, facing tight labor market, wants to lure parents back to workforce

Amazon has big plans for hiring, such as adding 150,000 workers this holiday season alone. But as its hiring goals come up against a tight U.S. labor market, the nation's second-largest private-sector employer is rolling out a new recruitment approach: appealing to parents, especially moms, who have left the workforce during the pandemic. 

Amazon on Wednesday said it is debuting a program called Amazon FamilyFlex, which it said provides flexible scheduling to help employees balance work and home life, enabling them to manage last-minute doctor's appointments for kids or the need to stay home if a child is sick. It's also touting its longstanding benefits, such as pregnancy and parental leave, to convince workers to come off the sidelines. 

Employers across the nation are facing a shortage of workers caused by a complex mix of factors, ranging from earlier-than-expected retirements for baby boomers to the departure of millions of women from the workforce after the pandemic shuttered in-person schools and daycare. Amazon said its new FamilyFlex plan is designed to keep women in the workforce while also reaching out to parents still on the sidelines as the pandemic continues.