Amazon gives its workers a raise of $1 per hour

In Brief

Amazon is raising the minimum starting pay for its U.S. core operations workers — like delivery drivers and fulfillment center employees — to $20 per hour and its average hourly pay to nearly $24 per hour. The company notes the higher pay represents an increase of $1 per hour for eligible employees.

“When you add in the value of our industry-leading benefits, average total compensation comes to more than $32 per hour,” Amazon Senior Vice President Udit Madan wrote in a blog post.

The investment in these raises comes out to over $1.5 billion, or about 0.06% of its $2.68 trillion market cap.

In addition, Amazon says it will now also provide employees with access to a low-cost banking system called Day 1 Financial, a membership in First Tech Federal Credit Union, as well as a 20% discount on purchases bought in-store at Whole Foods Market, the premium grocery chain that Amazon owns. If employees order groceries online via Amazon, they will also get a 10% discount.

Amazon already offers its employees free Prime memberships, prepaid education programs, and healthcare coverage, among its benefits.

On a subreddit for Amazon fulfillment center employees, people seem less than enthused. Regarding the Whole Foods discount, one worker commented, “So it would make it cost almost the same as a regular store, then? Hahaha,” a reference to Whole Foods’ historically higher prices.