Amazon Hikes Hourly Warehouse, Delivery Minimum Wage to $22
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Amazon’s warehouse workers and contract delivery drivers are getting a pay bump, with the former getting a Prime subscription thrown in with their compensation.
Starting in September, Amazon’s average base pay for U.S. warehouse workers will increase to an average of more than $22 an hour, up from roughly $20.50 an hour. Including benefits like health care, dental coverage and a 401(k) average, total compensation can tick up to more than $29 per hour, the company said.
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In early 2025, all hourly U.S. warehouse staff will get free access to Prime, which typically costs a customer $139 per year, as long as they work for Amazon.
Contract delivery drivers are getting the same hourly increase as part of Amazon’s recently announced $2.1 billion investment into its delivery service partner program. The partnership has taken plenty of criticism recently from unions, U.S. lawmakers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and in some cases, the contracted drivers themselves.
Both wage increases come as Amazon prepares to host its fall version of Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days, on Oct. 8-9. The shopping extravaganza will likely be the start of a busy stretch of months for the e-commerce giant as the holiday season creeps up in the weeks after.
Some workers feel the pay hike isn’t enough, and remain critical of the working conditions at its warehouses.
More than 800 workers at two Amazon facilities near St. Louis signed a petition demanding that the company increase minimum wages to $25 per hour, two months after New York-based employees organized petitions across five warehouses.
Ahead of Amazon’s announcement of the wage increases Wednesday, roughly 75 employees marched at the company’s St. Peters, Mo. warehouse as part of their campaign for better pay and the incorporation of performance-based bonuses.
Amazon unveils updates to supply chain, fulfillment and returns services
The warehouse wage bump and ensuing demonstration comes as the Big Tech firm expanded its slew of seller tools at its Accelerate seller conference in Seattle and touted the growth of some of its fulfillment services launched in 2023.
Amazon will offer a more automated version of its Supply Chain by Amazon feature, which is designed to enable sellers to offload their logistics needs onto the tech titan, whether it be inventory storage and replenishment, ground transportation and delivery.