8 Amazon facts you didn’t know

More than 50 percent of items sold on Amazon are from small businesses and entrepreneurs. In Colorado alone, there are more than 50,000 authors, sellers, and developers growing their businesses with us. Want a glimpse into how we create opportunities for people in your state?

The moment an online shopper clicks “Add to Cart,” teams of employees get to work on fulfilling the order, so it’s no wonder we are proud to employ hundreds of thousands of people across a variety of operations. To date, we have created more than 300,000 jobs in the U.S., and employ more than 540,000 people worldwide. In January 2017, we announced that we plan to create an additional 100,000 full-time, full-benefit positions in the U.S. by mid-2018.

From 2011 through 2016, we invested $100 billion in the U.S., from logistics infrastructure, to compensation to our teams. An initiative that’s been in the news lately is the search for a location for our second headquarters in North America. We expect to invest more than $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs.

Across the globe, small businesses selling on Amazon.com have created more than 600,000 new jobs outside of our company—and that number doesn’t include the businesses that we support directly. Get the scoop on the adventures of two entrepreneurs in Arizona who count Amazon as one of their largest clients.

There are more than 4,000 professionals on the Amazon Marketplace team, dedicated to supporting U.S.-based small businesses and entrepreneurs. We help businesses in a variety of ways, including with Amazon Launchpad, a program that makes it easy for startups to launch, market, and distribute their products on Amazon.

Imagine publishing your own book, for free, in less than five minutes—then seeing it appear in global marketplaces in a day or two. It may sound too good to be true, but that’s reality for the hundreds of thousands of authors and publishers from around the world who use Kindle Direct Publishing, self-publishing tool. Authors have earned more than $200 million from the KDP Select Global Fund in the last 12 months.

In some of our fulfillment centers, you may find employees with pencils in hand, working away inside classrooms. They’re part of our Career Choice Program—which provides hourly employees the flexibility and financial means to pursue their professional aspirations, regardless of whether those skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. The program covers 95 percent of students’ tuition and fees, and led to the creation of on-site glass classrooms, which help employees get to class on time and inspire other associates by giving them a peek into what they do.

Anyone—employee or not—strolling through the South Lake Union or Denny Regrade neighborhoods can swing by our two community banana stands to pick up a free, healthy snack. Originally conceived by Jeff Bezos, the novelty launched in 2015. These days, Amazon “banistas” hand out as many as 5,000 fruits a day. Bringing the community together with a quirky concept that keeps bellies full and passersby smiling? There’s nothing bananas about that.