These 9 Companies Plan to Hire More Than 10,000 Workers

While many struggling retailers, manufacturers, and other hard-up U.S. companies have laid off thousand of employees this year, some employers are increasing their headcounts by huge numbers. Near-record-low unemployment rates have led to a tight labor market.

"We continue to see a really strong labor market, and with almost 6 million jobs open in the U.S., and 200,000 new jobs created in January 2018 alone, there are job opportunities for many throughout a variety of industries," wrote Glassdoor career trends expert Sarah Stoddard in an email to The Motley Fool. 

When it comes to lowering the unemployment rate, some companies are more than pulling their weight. In fact, every business on this list -- which includes technology companies, retailers, restaurant chains, and more -- plans to hire at least 10,000 people in 2018.

Home Depot (NYSE: HD) plans to hire 80,000 workers for its busy spring season. To make that happen, the home improvement retailer has launched a new digital tool that allows applicants to schedule their own job interviews. 

"Just as we're continuously evolving to meet the changing expectations of our customers, we're harnessing new technologies to do the same for job seekers," said Home Depot human resources executive vice president Tim Hourigan in a press release. "This consumer-like experience helps us hire the best talent to serve our customers."

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) plans to hire 20,000 workers in the U.S. by 2021. It also has plans to open a new campus as part of $30 billion in capital expenditures during that time frame 

In addition, the company has said it expects to pay $38 billion in taxes as it brings back much of the $250 billion in cash it holds overseas. About $10 billion of its capital investments will go to U.S. data centers, while the company also plans to spend $5 billion through an innovation fund.

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Like it's chief rival, Home Depot, Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) has big hiring plans for the spring. The company will hire 53,000 workers for full-time and part-time positions. The jobs being filled include cashiers, lawn and garden associates, stockers, assemblers of outdoor products, and loaders.

These are considered seasonal jobs, but the company noted in a press release that in 2017, 40% of its seasonal workers moved into full-time positions. In addition, over 200 store managers originally started with the company in seasonal jobs.

Not only does Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) plan to launch its own delivery service, which will likely lead to thousands of jobs being created, but it has begun soliciting bids for a second headquarters in North America. The project, dubbed HQ2, comes with a promise of "as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs" with the company.

Amazon expects to invest $5 billion constructing HQ2. The internet giant released a "shortlist" of 20 potential cities in January, but the final location has not yet been announced as of this writing. 

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Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google has plans to add 20,000 jobs in a new development in San Jose, California. The company also plans to hire thousands of people at data centers in nine states.

The company has not detailed whether the San Jose jobs are all new hires or whether some positions will be moved from other locations. CEO Sundar Pichai, however, did lay out the data center plan in a recent earnings call.

"We plan to hire thousands of people across the U.S. this year," said Pichai. "Last year in the U.S. we grew faster outside the Bay Area than in the Bay Area. To support this growth, we will be making significant investments in offices across nine states, including Colorado and Michigan."

 

While it's not well-known in the U.S., Softbank owns a majority interest in Sprint and has pledged to invest $50 billion in the country. As part of that investment, CEO Masayoshi Son has pledged to create 50,000 new jobs in the U.S. Some of those will be at Sprint, while others will be at new ventures not yet announced.

Infosys (NYSE: INFY), an information technology (IT) firm based in India, plans to hire 10,000 people to bolster its U.S. staff. The company also plans to open four data centers, with the first one opening in August in Indiana.

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While Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has not set a specific global hiring goal, it should easily hire over 10,000 workers worldwide in 2018 alone. The company has been expanding rapidly, adding about a store a day in China.

In addition to its general hiring efforts, the coffee chain also has specific plans to hire veterans, refugees, and what it calls "Opportunity Youth" -- 16- to-24-year-olds who are neither employed nor in school. Starbucks also plans to open premium Roastery locations in a handful of major cities and about 1,000 Reserve stores.

"Starbucks Roasteries under design or construction in the iconic, global cities of Shanghai, New York, Tokyo, Milan, and Chicago will join our Seattle Roastery in delivering an immersive, ultra-premium, coffee-forward experience like none other anywhere in the world," executive chairman Howard Schultz said in the chain's Q2 earnings release."

While Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) has not publicly stated any hiring goals, it added about 2,000 restaurants across its KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut Brands in 2017. It should add roughly the same number of stores in 2018, which would easily increase its headcount by 10,000 employees.

"Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over seven new restaurants per day on average," the company notes on its investor relations website.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Daniel B. Kline owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple, short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, short May 2018 $175 calls on Home Depot, and long January 2020 $110 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot and Lowe's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.