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KPBS Midday Edition

Amazon Faces Uphill Hiring Battle In Staffing Otay Mesa Warehouse

The Amazon logo is shown in this undated photo.
Reed Saxon AP
The Amazon logo is shown in this undated photo.
An Amazon fulfilment center under construction in Otay Mesa is hiring 1,500 workers with a starting pay of $15 an hour - which may present the online retailer with certain challenges given the shifting attitudes on worker compensation in the county.

Amazon is hiring roughly 1,500 workers to staff a new fulfilment center currently under construction in Otay Mesa.

Jobs at the new center will start at $15 an hour, which may not be enough to entice workers in a local job market where employers have a tough time attracting talent with the lackluster benefits and low wages they’re offering.

Amazon’s notoriously difficult working conditions were thrown into the spotlight recently when former CEO Jeff Bezos credited his successful space flight to the work of Amazon employees, triggering a brief political backlash.

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San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Phillip Molnar joined Midday Edition on Wednesday to talk more about the retail giant's hiring push in the area.