NEW YORK – Amazon's announcement of raising its minimum hourly wage to US $ 15 has been seen as a victory for workers. But some longtime employees say they are losing.

Those who have already earned $ 15 will receive an extra dollar per hour when the change comes next month, but they will also lose two benefits they count on: monthly bonuses of up to hundreds of dollars and a chance to own the stock in the future. Amazon's arrow, current value of nearly $ 2,000 per share.

At least four long-time workers, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, said that the $ 1 increase in the price of $ 1 was the only reason the company had been banned. time would not compensate for lost profits. Employees, all of whom work in different warehouses across the country, said the minimum wage of $ 15 was good for new employees, but the calculation did not work for those who worked in warehouses. Amazon for a few years.

"I feel extremely disrespectful," said an employee of a warehouse in northeastern Maryland. "Those who are loyal should be rewarded for their loyalty, and should not be hit in the face."

According to Amazon, the salary increase will benefit more than 350,000 workers, including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions, as well as those of its Whole Foods grocery chain. Economists have said that this measure could put pressure on other big employers to raise their salaries.

Amazon said in a statement that the changes mean that "the compensation will be more immediate and predictable". The Seattle-based company, which has more than 100 warehouses in the country, said that "the sharp rise in hourly cash wages more than offset" the benefits that will be phased out.

But others dispute that.

"They must have some other type of calculator than us," said an employee of a Pennsylvania warehouse, who estimated she would lose about $ 3,000 a year.

From January to September, she earned about $ 150 a month in bonuses, which were tied to the warehouse's attendance and productivity goals. But she earned another $ 400 a month in October, November and December, during the busy holiday shopping season, when Amazon doubles bonuses to encourage workers to show up at the hour and prepare their parcels more. quickly.

"They have removed all the incentives to work very hard," she said, estimating that the raising of dollars would give her about $ 160 more per month.

Amazon said that its stock program, which usually gave workers one or two Amazon shares in their infancy and then one per year, will be replaced by a method allowing workers to buy stock the same. next year, but without providing details. Workers said that warehouse managers also did not know how it would work.

"Who earns $ 16.25 an hour will have $ 2,000 to buy an action?" said the person who works in North East, Maryland.

Thomas Kochan, a professor at MIT's Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research, said that gaining benefits from long-tenured workers could lead to faster rotation. He added that Amazon should better communicate with workers if the overall pay was higher "or if you are going to have morale problems."

The workers said that the warehouse managers responsible for informing them of the changes did not seem to know the answer to certain questions. Those who called the hotline for employees looking for answers have heard a pre-recorded message: the Employee Resource Center "does not have any additional information that we can share with you for the moment".

Instead, many workers have called the office of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who had criticized Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for paying what he described as low wages, but congratulated the company when it raised the minimum hourly wage.

In a statement, the independent senator said: "We believe that the vast majority of Amazon workers will see their pay increases.I hope that, thanks to the new Amazon policy, no worker, especially long-time employees, does not reduce total compensation.Amazon can afford to integrate all workers and should do so ".

One person, who has been working in a warehouse in Phoenix for several years, said that losing benefits meant that working at Amazon was now "like any other warehouse".

"I'm updating my resume," he said.