According to reports, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) isn’t just satisfied with having control over your wallet and a good chunk of world wide web traffic. It’s also interested in helping people tidy up around the house, doing laundry, and putting groceries and other essentials away.
The program is called Amazon Assistants, and it looks as though the company in the process of testing out the program in its hometown of Seattle. The Seattle Times first reported Amazon posted the housekeeper ads on Monday.
This isn’t Amazon’s first foray into services. The company already has a large web services division, which supplies hosting and other cloud-based services for tech companies. It also connects members to local contractors through its Home Assistants program.
One thing to note is the company’s ad specified the housekeepers would be employees, rather than independent contractors. Perks offered include Amazon stock, flexible hours, on-site training, and health insurance. If Amazon did decide to really ramp up this project, it would likely switch to a independent contractor model, like Uber has done with its drivers.
Like with many of Amazon’s premium services, it looks like Amazon Assistants will only be marketed to Prime members only.
Amazon is known for testing out new concepts in Seattle. There’s no indication this newest initiative is anything more than a small pilot project. It could be years until we see the program get rolled out in a big way, if at all.
Amazon is keeping mum about the new project, declining to comment when reached by reporters.
