Trump Effect Or Counter To Alibaba? Amazon To Create 100,000 New Full-Time Jobs

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN announced on Thursday it will be creating 100,000 new full-time jobs in the United States over the next 18 months.

According to a Bloomberg report, Amazon will be hiring people across the country with various levels of skills, experience and education. Among the soon to be open positions include engineers, software developers, entry-level positions and jobs that offer training.

Amazon will also be hiring people to work on its cloud technologies, machine learning initiatives and advanced logistics.

There are two ways the report can be dissected.

Possibility No. 1

First, Amazon could be looking to counter Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA after its chairman, Jack Ma, met with President-elect Donald Trump and pledged to create one million jobs in the United States, although some experts are calling into question Ma's promise.

Possibility No. 2

On the other hand, Amazon's announcement could be attributed to Trump's push for American companies to expand their operations in the United States and hire Americans.

Hiring Was Going To Happen Regardless Of Trump

CNBC's David Faber noted that it was likely Amazon was going to hire tens of thousands of new workers regardless of the political climate, but now companies feel obligated to boast of their hiring activities in press releases.

CNBC's Jim Cramer jumped in and pointed out that once Carrier reached a deal with Trump to keep a plant open in the United States, the president-elect publicly encouraged Americans to buy Carrier's air conditioners. He suggested the same outcome could be seen in Amazon's case.

"Would it shock you if the president-elect says 'everybody has to go on Amazon Prime?"' Cramer added emphatically.

Image Credit: By Michael Vadon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons