Amazon to create 100,000 full-time jobs in US

Amazon.com said today it would create more than 100,000 full-time jobs in the US over the next 18 months. Seattle-based Amazon said it plans to increase its full-time US-based workforce to more than 280,000 by the middle of 2018 from 180,000 in 2016. "These jobs are not just in our Seattle headquarters or in Silicon Valley - they're in our customer service network, fulfillment centers and other facilities in local communities throughout the country," CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. Amazon had about 230,800 full-time and part-time employees as of December 31, 2015. The move comes with Amazon expanding from its origins as an online retailer to a diversified tech company offering streaming video and music, cloud computing, and home automation through its artificial intelligence program Alexa.