Amazon Donates 2,000 Kindle Devices to Wounded Service Members Ahead of Veterans Day and Commits to Hiring At Least 1,200 Veterans in Upcoming Year

Company named a top military-friendly employer by G.I. Jobs for second consecutive year

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its commitment to support transitioning military service women and men, Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced a donation of 2,000 Kindle devices to non-profit Operation Homefront to support wounded service members and their families. The company also pledged to hire at least 1,200 veterans in the next 12 months.

“Amazon is committed to supporting veterans as they transition from military life to civilian life and is excited to donate 2,000 Kindle devices to the wounded warriors at Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to supporting our nation’s military”

“Amazon is committed to supporting veterans as they transition from military life to civilian life and is excited to donate 2,000 Kindle devices to the wounded warriors at Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to supporting our nation’s military,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment. “As we continue to create jobs in the U.S., we want to ensure that our nation’s veterans know that Amazon is a destination where they can turn their unique skillsets into a robust career.”

“Many of our service members, who faced challenges abroad, return home to find a whole different set of trials as they work to figure out how their specific military skill set translates into a civilian job,” U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee said. “I applaud companies like Amazon for committing to help our military heroes adjust to being home by ensuring they have access to quality employment.”

Amazon currently employs hundreds of self-identified veterans in its 40 U.S. fulfillment centers and pays its full-time, permanent employees 30 percent more than what traditional retail store employees earn. Amazon has a team made up of veterans that is devoted to military recruitment and offers its veteran employees access to mentoring and career support to help them develop their skills into long-term careers at Amazon. In 2011, Amazon launched a Virtual Contact Center enabling employees to work from home while providing customer service support, and has actively recruited military spouses and wounded warriors into those roles.

“It’s very fitting that we recognize Amazon’s support of our wounded service members and their families as we near Veterans Day,” said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “These Kindle devices will greatly enhance their quality of life as they progress through their challenging recovery process.”

Earlier today Amazon was named to the G.I. Jobs annual list of top military-friendly employers, marking its second consecutive year on the list. Amazon’s ongoing commitment to hiring veterans was recognized last month by U.S. Veterans Magazine in their list of Top 100 companies recruiting veterans. Amazon has also been recognized by Military Spouse Magazine as a top military spouse-friendly employer.

“Once finished with military service, most veterans search to find another meaningful mission. They want to ensure their work has a continued sense of purpose,” said Josh Teeter, a former enlisted Army soldier who began his Amazon career as a temporary fulfillment center associate and now leads one of the company’s largest fulfillment centers as a general manager. “Amazon’s commitment to hiring and developing veterans reflects its customer-centric focus and has provided me with the career opportunities to succeed.”

To learn more about Amazon and its military recruiting, please visit www.amazon.com/military.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual-antennas/MIMO for 40% faster throughput than other tablets, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.