At a time when it has become a particular target of union organizers, Amazon announced pay increases for its U.S. front-line employees, based on an almost $1 billion investment during the next year. The company also initiated a new benefit that enables employees to collect their pay at any time during a given month.
Average starting pay for front-line Amazon employees in customer fulfillment and transportation is increasing from $18 an hour to more than $19 an hour, the company reported, with employee salaries ranging from $16 to $26 per hour depending on position and location in the United States.
Amazon expanded its pay access program, Anytime Pay, to all employees across its U.S. operations, corporate and technology segments. Anytime Pay gives Amazon employees access to as much as 70% of their eligible earned pay whenever they choose and without fees. Before, most Amazon employees received their regular pay once or twice monthly.
As another means of boosting employee satisfaction, Amazon announced new investments in its career development programs, building on a commitment to provide free college tuition to hourly employees. The move brings the company’s total investment in employee benefits to almost $10 billion this year alone, the company maintained.
Amazon has formally added an additional development project, the Amazon Intelligence Initiative. By design, the career advancement program will place employees in engineering roles within Amazon Web Services, working to operate AWS’s Dedicated Cloud regions. Employees enter a 12- to 14-month development process to enhance their technical skills, then complete multiple on-the-job rotations with hands-on experience alongside top AWS engineers. Once they complete the process, the company stated, program participants are placed in appropriate roles.
“Front-line employees across customer fulfillment and transportation will now earn, on average, more than $19 per hour in the U.S., and they also have access to a growing range of comprehensive benefits to support themselves and their families,” said John Felton, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations. “Continuing to invest in pay, providing easy access to earned wages at any time during the month, and offering great benefits and career advancement opportunities are all part of our long-term efforts to be the best employer in the world.”
