EXCLUSIVE Amazon uploads start paying up to $ 18 per hour

Sept. 14 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) has increased its initial average wage in the United States to more than $ 18 an hour and plans to hire another 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers, an executive told Reuters.

Since May, the world’s largest online retailer has raised its salaries by about $ 17. In some places, the company gives bonuses to sign $ 3,000, said Dave Bozeman, vice president of Amazon Delivery Services, or three times what the company offered four months ago.

The bigger salary shows how big employers are desperate to lure workers into an ever-narrowing U.S. job market. Fewer Americans are seeking unemployment claims in the same way that openings have hit a record in the reopening economy. Read more

Bozeman attributed Amazon’s latest compensation increase to fierce competition. Amazon did not give exact figures, but a rise of $ 1 for a salary of $ 17 per hour would mean an increase of approximately 6%.

Amazon, now the second largest private entrepreneur in the United States, set a minimum wage of $ 15 per hour in 2018. Walmart Inc (WMT.N) recently announced an average hourly wage of $ 16.40, while Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) said it would raise its low to $ 15 in October. Read more

“It’s a tight job market, and we’ve seen some of the things the whole industry is seeing,” explained Bozeman, who spoke in an interview at a delivery station in Tukwila, Washington.

He said Amazon would maintain its base salary of $ 15 per hour. Benefits such as funding college tuition for workers and starting salary up to $ 22.50 in some areas distinguished the online retailer from peers, he said.

Amazon is hiring workers to help run 100 logistics facilities that will be launched this month in the United States, in addition to the more than 250 opened earlier this year. Some workers will help in Amazon’s long-term effort to launch a one-day delivery for members of the Prime loyalty club.

“The 125,000 (warehouse workers) are really helping us keep up with our growth,” said Bozeman, who added that only a minority of jobs had to deal with wear and tear. Amazon said it would fill out the roles, which are full-time and part-time, as quickly as possible, but offered no timeline.

Nicole Bilich, human resources manager, said the competitive pay has been awarded to applicants from her warehouse in Stockton, California, which Amazon plans to launch in October. But hiring 2,200 people in three or four months is not easy.

“The biggest challenge we have is really just the number of people we need,” he said.

Earlier this month, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told Reuters that the company would hire more than 55,000 technology and business jobs worldwide.

Jeffrey Dastin Reports; Edited by Peter Henderson and Cynthia Osterman

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