NEW YORK (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.