NEW YORK — Need more proof that Amazon is big? It came this week.
Amazon’s U.S. workforce has topped 500,000 for the first time, up 43 percent from the year before and more than triple what it was five years ago, the company said Friday. It gained 150,000 workers last year, more than the size of Apple’s entire workforce.
When it reported its quarterly performance Thursday, Amazon revealed that 150 million people were paying to be members of its Prime service, which offers faster shipping and other perks. On Friday, even while the Dow fell 600 points, Amazon shares soared passed $2,000 apiece, doubling in price in about two years.
Amazon’s growth comes with increased scrutiny. Some Democratic presidential candidates want to break it up. Others want it to pay more taxes. It is a regular target of President Donald Trump, who has been tweeting similar complaints as he fights with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. Amazon has said it shouldn’t be broken up, and that it pays all the taxes it owes.
Being under the microscope has not slowed its phenomenal growth. Sales during the holiday season soared. Its other businesses, including cloud computing and advertising, grew too, despite increased competition from other big tech companies.
