With Christmas just three months away, Amazon is gearing up for an increased workload by offering thousands of jobs across the country.

Nearly 1,000 jobs are now available in East Tennessee between the Knoxville and Blount County Amazon facilities, which will average at around $20 an hour for pay.

“Starting pay starts around $17 but can go up to $28 an hour at times,” said Divina Mims with Amazon.

While Amazon said there are no concrete plans or timeline for the Knoxville facility where the old East Towne Mall used to be, the facility in Blount County is already seeing work being done.

“The facility is actually undergoing a soft open so we’re ramping up, and jobs are posted, and we’re looking to fulfill those roles right now,” said Mims.

The facility in Blount County is looking for more than 900 people to fill jobs right away, while the facility in Knoxville is looking for around 40 additional people to join their staff.

According to Mims, for the last few weeks, the facility in Rockford has been accepting packages and storing them but has not shipped any out at this time.

These jobs are posted here on the Amazon website, and there will be a hiring event on Friday, September 22nd from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hilton Knoxville Airport which is located at 2001 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa.

Story courtesy of WVLT