NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) plans to hire 250,000

transportation and warehouse workers this holiday shopping

season, the same number as last year as e-commerce spending is

expected to outpace overall holiday sales in the final quarter

of 2024, the company said on Thursday.

"Although there is an anticipated increase in the demand and

the volume, we feel like the 250,000 is the right number to

continue to grow and advance with our operations," said Sandy

Gordon, vice president of Global Operations Employee Experience

at Amazon ( AMZN ).

It was unclear what percentage of the 250,000 seasonal

workers, which include staff in sort centers, fulfillment

centers and delivery stations, would be in fulfillment centers

or transport employees. The transport employees will not include

delivery service partners or their teams, according to a company

spokesperson.

Online holiday shoppers are expected to spend a record

$240.8 billion, up 4.9% from last year. Broader holiday spending

is expected to rise modestly at 3.2%, according to a Mastercard

forecast.

While Amazon's ( AMZN ) hiring plans remain flat compared to last

year, the company is still outpacing big box competitor Target,

which will tack on 100,000 workers for the season.

U.S. retailers are grappling with a softer labor market and

are expected to add 520,000 new jobs during the holiday shopping

season, slowing down from last year's 564,200 job openings.

Amazon's ( AMZN ) announcement comes a day after the National Labor

Relations Board claimed that the retail giant was a "joint

employer" of drivers for contractor Battle Tested Strategies

(BTS). The contractor's drivers voted to join the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters union last year.

An Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson said the Teamsters have

"misrepresented the facts" as the union accuses Amazon ( AMZN ) of

retaliating against BTS for drivers unionizing.