From late November on, Amazon's network of 80 global distribution centers kick into overdrive. There, a portion of the company's 69,000 employees plus another 50,000 seasonal workers load orders from giant conveyor belts. The facilities run 24/7 and stocks everything from soccer balls to tablecloths, according to ABC News.
The work conditions can be brutal, but Corporate VP Craig Berman told ABC, "We are a company of constant improvement so these jobs are very, very safe jobs, and our wages, they're very well-paying jobs." Amazon doesn't say how many items it moves during the holiday season, but some 17 million items traveled through its warehouses on Cyber Monday 2011. Every one of those items has a bar code, which helps the company keep track of its massive inventory.