Amazon hiring for its first East Coast grocery stores in the DC area
WASHINGTON - Amazon’s footprint in the D.C. metropolitan area isn’t stopping with HQ2 in Arlington.
Soon, the East Coast’s first Amazon grocery stores, called Amazon Fresh, will be opening in the DMV and Pennsylvania.
READ MORE: Arlington residents weigh in on next phase of Amazon's HQ2
The company confirmed for FOX 5 that it will be opening its Maryland location in Chevy Chase, along with locations in Fairfax County and D.C.’s Logan Circle area.
Another location is planned for the Philadelphia suburb of Warrington, Pa.
The company says it’s looking to hire "hundreds" of full- and part-time workers.
The company is looking for people to fill a range of roles, including managerial positions, and its minimum wage is $15 per hour for lower-tier roles.
However, Amazon has not confirmed when the stores are set to open.
"Amazon’s new grocery store in Washington, D.C., is a welcome addition to our community," Washington Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio said in a statement.
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The company also plans to open convenience stores around the D.C. area called Amazon Go with a focus on fresh food and easy access. Amazon already owns the grocery retail company Whole Foods.
Not everyone is welcoming the online retail titan’s supermarket venture with open arms, however.
Allegations around its labor practices have been in the spotlight lately, with reports that pressured employees must go to extreme lengths to meet its demands – including urinating in bottles rather than taking bathroom breaks.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union – which represents more than 37,000 grocery store workers in the D.C. area – condemned the move by Amazon.
"Amazon is bringing its ruthless anti-worker playbook to the grocery industry with the expansion of these stores, and our country’s essential workers and the families they serve will be the ones who pay the price. This pandemic has made clear that our country’s grocery workers are essential as we have looked to our neighborhood supermarkets to protect access to the food we need during this crisis," said UFCW International President Marc Perrone.
FoxBusiness.com contributed to this report