Amazon delivery workers get another pay raise

Amazon plans to raise wages for its contract drivers and expects to invest $440 million in its third-party delivery program this year , but declined to disclose the extent of the wage increase .

The company announced the pay rise at an annual closed-door meeting called Ignite Live, attended by 3,500 small businesses that make up its Delivery Service Partner program ( DSP ) , according to a person familiar with the matter .

Launched in 2018, the program consists of about 279,000 drivers, typically distinguishable by their blue Amazon-branded vans, who are responsible for delivering packages the last few miles to shoppers’ doorsteps.

“This money will go directly to the DSPs so they can offer competitive compensation to their employees and build and retain great teams, ” Beryl Tomé, Amazon’s vice president of last-mile delivery and technology, said in an interview.

While Amazon sets minimum wages through its contracts with the companies , DPS is free to set wages and incentives for its workers , Tomai said.

While Amazon did not disclose the size of the pay increase, some expect delivery associates to make an average of $20.50 an hour , plus benefits . The couriers will begin raising wages in mid-October.

It is reported that the DPS program can be said to be a key weapon in Amazon's logistics arsenal, enabling it to reduce its dependence on operators such as the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx , while also speeding up delivery.

Amazon has invested about $8.9 billion in the program since it began , and DPS has generated more than $45 billion in revenue over the past five years, Thomas said.

The move comes as Amazon faces renewed strike threats from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to unionize its delivery drivers. The union has picketed more than a dozen Amazon warehouses in the U.S. since June to raise concerns about working conditions at the company .

Amazon has previously said it respects workers' rights to join or not join a union.

Amazon

Salary increase

Deliveryman