Amazon gives frontline workers $ 300 vacation bonus

Amazon is offering frontline workers a one-time bonus to share its appreciation for their work as “the peak of the holidays” approaches, the company said Thursday.

In a blog post, Dave Clark, senior vice president of retail operations at Amazon, said full-time operations staff employed by the company from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31 would receive a bonus of $ 300. Part-time workers employed within the same period will receive a bonus of $ 150.

“I’ve been with Amazon for 22 holiday seasons and this one is truly unique, to say the least,” Clark said. “I am grateful to our teams who continue to play an essential role in the service of their communities.

Amazon said it will spend more than $ 500 million on one-time holiday payments. In June, Amazon also spent $ 500 million in ‘thank you’ bonuses for frontline workers who continued to come to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The company has spent billions of dollars since March on coronavirus-related investments, including salary increases, safety equipment, and improved cleaning measures, as well as developing testing capabilities. Amazon issued temporary pay increases and double overtime pay at the height of the pandemic, but both of those incentives ended in June.

Since then, warehouse workers have expressed frustration that their risk premium was reduced even as the pandemic persisted and they still faced increased risks to health and safety in the workplace. In October, Amazon revealed that more than 19,000 of its frontline workers in the United States contracted the coronavirus between March 1 and September 19.

Amazon defended its decision to end wage increases and double overtime pay, saying the wage premiums were announced to “help meet the increased demand” for online orders, which has since leveled off. .