Amazon will raise pay by up to $3 an hour for 500,000 employees, the company announced Wednesday.
The pay increases, which will range between $0.50 and $3 hourly, will affect workers across four teams: fulfillment, delivery, package sortation, and specialty fulfilment, the company said.
The increases represent an investment of over $1 billion in incremental pay, according to Amazon vice president Darcie Henry.
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Henry said the pay increase is to incentivize hiring for tens of thousands of jobs across the US.
"These jobs come with a range of great benefits, like medical, dental, and vision coverage, parental leave, ways to save for the future, and opportunities for career advancement—all in a safe and inclusive environment that's been ranked among the best workplaces in the world," Henry said in a release.
Amazon claims the median worker earned $29,007 in 2020, a $159 increase from the year prior. The e-commerce giant raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2018.
Amazon workers in Alabama recently lost their bid to form what would have been the company's first-ever union in the US. Amazon told Insider it already offered "industry-leading pay" the union was pushing for, but labor activists and experts argue collective bargaining can increase wages further.
The firm roughly tripled its net profit to $6.33 billion and grew sales by 37% — to $96.1 billion — in the last quarter. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a rise in online shopping and a need for cloud storage on Amazon Web Services as people spent more time at home.
Amazon did not have additional statement to add.
