GameStop To Increase Fall Hourly Retail Staff By 78%

Gaming retail giant GameStop is looking to hire some 15,000 part-time workers for the fall season to deal with the severe increase in sales and foot traffic that comes with the annual holiday release period. The temporary job positions will be what GameStop calls "game advisors," the hourly retail workers who comprise the majority of the store's brick-and-mortar staff. The new hires will represent a 78 percent increase in game advisor headcount, and a 46 percent increase to GameStop's entire employee base. GameStop institutes similar hiring boosts during the busy fall season every year. The company's human resources senior vice president Marissa Andrada pointed to recent console price drops, as well as the upcoming release of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Wii Fit Plus as likely heavy sales drivers in 2009. "The end of the year historically represents a large part of our company's annual sales, and 2009 is not expected to be any different," Andrada said in a statement. "The launches of several highly anticipated blockbuster video game titles...combined with the recent price reductions for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii gaming consoles are expected to create a lot of store traffic from customers seeking out GameStop’s unparalleled customer service, value and selection."