Amazon asks its engineers, marketing staff to pitch in for deliveries during Prime Day rush

Amazon

In a surprising move, Amazon has asked some of its corporate employees to lend a hand in the warehouse during its big Prime Day sale week.

According to a message seen by The Guardian, office workers in New York City, including engineers and marketing staff, were invited to volunteer at a Brooklyn warehouse that handles Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries. The request came on Monday, just a day before Prime Day kicked off.

Employees were asked to sign up for two-hour shifts between 10am and 6pm, from Tuesday through Friday. Their tasks include picking out grocery items, packing bags, loading delivery carts, and even handing out snacks to boost morale. They would also be allowed to step into a conference room if they needed to take work calls or attend meetings.

The idea, according to the message, is to support warehouse staff during one of the busiest weeks of the year and to help bridge the gap between corporate and front-line teams.

An Amazon spokesperson said this kind of volunteer program has happened before and is completely optional. "It gives corporate employees a chance to get closer to the customer while freeing up store teams to focus on important work," said spokesperson Griffin Buch.

Prime Day is a huge event for Amazon. The company offers deep discounts on thousands of products, which naturally leads to a big spike in orders and deliveries. Amazon usually hires thousands of extra warehouse workers to handle the load, but this time, it’s also looking to its own office staff for extra help.

For now though, some of the heavy lifting is being done by people who usually work at a desk.