Narayan AmmachchiU.S. online retailing giant Amazon is adding more than 1,500 people to its payroll in Costa Rica in a bid to capitalize on the growing popularity of e-commerce in Latin America.
According to a statement from Cinde, Costa Rica’s investment promotion agency, Amazon would expand its operational units in capital San Jose, recruiting more people for positions in customer service. Similarly, the company’s merchant support, finance, and software development units will also be bulked up with more staff.
“We are proud to be creating more than 1,500 full-time jobs in diverse fields and to grow our footprint across the country,” said Alejandro Filloy, the company’s General Manager in Costa Rica.
Operating two units for the past eight years, Amazon is one of the biggest job creators in Costa Rica’s private sector. Currently, the company employs more than 4,000 full-time associates in many different business units.
“Not only is Amazon one of the most important customer service centers operating in Costa Rica, and one of the largest employers in the services sector, but also as a multidisciplinary center of shared services and technologies,” said Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of Cinde.
Employees at Amazon receive competitive wages and several incentives, including private health insurance, life insurance, and transportation, plus extended maternity and parental leave benefits.
Still, e-commerce is not exactly booming in Costa Rica. According to a study by consultant company Kantar Worldpanel, only 12% of consumers in the country shop online. But Amazon is seeing its business growing elsewhere in Latin America; in 2013, Amazon’s sales in the region increased 142%.
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