Amazon increases workers salaries from US$17 per hour to US$18. In addition, the giant e-commerce company is also targeting 125,000 new employees.
Amazon’s deputy head of delivery, Dave Bozeman, said his company had increased wages from an average of $17 an hour since May. In several locations, the company also gave a bonus of US$3,000 or three times the bonus 4 months ago.
The pay rise shows how much employers want to attract workers in an increasingly tight US labor market.
Bozeman attributes Amazon’s latest compensation increase to intense competition. Amazon did not provide exact figures, but the increase of US $ 1 is about 6 percent increase from the previous salary.
“Right now the labor market is very tight and we are experiencing what the whole industry is feeling,” Bozeman said.
He said Amazon would keep its base salary at $15 an hour and maintain benefits such as funding tuition for workers and starting wages as high as $22.5 in some areas. This, according to him, differentiates Amazon from other online retailers.
Amazon Needs 125,000 new workers
On the other hand, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said his party added at least 100 logistics facilities this month, a total of more than 250 facilities opened this year. So, it needs 125,000 new workers.
The company’s external delivery service partner is aiming to hire another 50,000 workers by the end of the year.
Amazon HR manager Nicole Bilich says competitive salaries are attracting applicants to a warehouse in Stockton, California set to launch in October. But hiring 2,200 people in three to four months he admits is not easy.
“The biggest challenge we have is really just the number of people we need.”
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