Amazon Throws Essential Workers $500M In Bonuses. But Is It Enough?

Words by Romana Hai

Amazon Throws Essential Workers $500M In Bonuses. But Is It Enough?
Amazon Throws Essential Workers $500M In Bonuses. But Is It Enough?

Amazon is showing its appreciation to its front-line employees and partners by providing $500 million in one-time bonuses.

Disclosed in a blog on Monday, Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, sent out a notice to workers explaining the breakdown of the financial bump, ranging from $150 (for Amazon Flex drivers who worked more than 10 hours in June) to $3000 (for Delivery Service Partner owners). The bonuses only apply to employees who worked for the company through June.

The “thank you” bonus will extend to Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees, Delivery Service Partners as well as Amazon Flex drivers.”

– Dave Clark, SVP WW Operations

In light of the ongoing pandemic, Amazon had also temporarily increased the hourly rate by $2 for warehouse workers during April and May and offered double overtime pay as well as unlimited unpaid time off. Those increases expired at the beginning of June, however.

It’s only a matter of time before we find out whether the $500 bonuses will be enough to appease Amazon workers, who have not been shy about vocalizing their concerns, especially during the pandemic.

For example, when Amazon fired workers following the U.S. strikes, Tim Bray, a VP and Distinguished Engineer at Amazon Web Services, resigned in dismay and said the firings were a result of “toxicity running through the company culture.”

“I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.”

In Bray’s blog post, he notes that while Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of the company, treats its workers humanely and strives to offer work/life balance, when it comes to warehouses, it treats them as “fungible units of pick-and-pack potential.” The problem, Bray argued, extends far beyond Amazon. “Only that’s not just Amazon, it’s how 21st-century capitalism is done,” he added.

A group of three Amazon warehouse employees have even gone as far as filing a lawsuit alleging the company put them and their families at risk of COVID-19 infection. One plaintiffs in the suit, Barbara Chandler, says she contracted the virus from a Staten Island warehouse back in March, and her cousin, who was also her roommate, later died after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Amazon has found these incidents challenging to shake off, especially since the company has benefited immensely during the pandemic, reporting $75.5 billion in net sales in Q1 2020, up from $59.7 billion in Q1 2019.

That said, it seems like Amazon has been trying to clean up its act. In May this year, the company said that it was investing $4 billion to keep its employees safe. The investment will entail COVID-19 safety measures, such as offering workers personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning of facilities, adoption of less efficient process paths that better allow for effective social distancing, higher wages for hourly teams, and even development of COVID-19 testing capabilities.

So, is the $500 million in bonuses enough to keep Amazon workers happy? We’ll find out soon enough.

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