According to Amazon.com Inc., a pay hike for hourly workers in the US will raise the average beginning compensation for the majority of front-line workers in transportation and warehousing to more than $19 an hour.
The minimum wage set by the corporation for all hourly employees in the US is still $15 per hour. Starting compensation for positions in Amazon’s customer fulfilment and transportation departments will rise to $16 per hour, a representative said in an email on Wednesday.
According to the Seattle-based business, the boost will result in increased spending of over $1 billion over the coming year.
After Walmart Inc., Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the US. By the end of 2021, Amazon had over 1.1 million employees working for them in the US. As of June 30, the corporation employed more than 1.5 million people overall. The majority of those individuals are hourly labourers who work at retail establishments like Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh or pack and ship merchandise.
According to a release, the business is also extending access to a scheme that enables employees to get payments more frequently than once or twice each month.
At some of its locations, including one in the Albany, New York, region warehouse where a vote is slated for next month, Amazon deals with employee activity and union drives. The business is contesting an election from last April.