Amazon announced Wednesday that it will invest over $1 billion to raise pay and lower the cost of benefits for employees.
With the changes the company is making to its pay structure, average pay is increasing to over $23 per hour, with some hourly employees seeing an increase of $1.10 to $1.90 per hour and salaried employees seeing an average of a $1600 per year increase. Amazon is also updating its step plan to offer higher increases for every year that an employee stays at the company.
In addition to pay, Amazon is updating its benefit package. The entry-level health care plan costs will be lowered to $5 per week and $5 for copays, starting in 2026.
“These benefits are part of our commitment to making Amazon a place where employees can build a career, support their families, and invest in their future,” Udit Madan, Senior Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Operations shared in a blog post.
The announcement comes just before Prime Big Deal Days, a two-day sale on October 7-8 to kick off the holiday shopping season. The shopping events, like the annual Prime Day sale, are notorious for putting a strain on Amazon employees, including warehouse workers and delivery drivers. In December, the company agreed to implement health and safety measures after a series of OSHA complaints.
“This corporate-wide settlement agreement focuses on improving conditions for several hundred thousand Amazon workers nationwide,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker in a statement. “The agreement requires Amazon to assess ergonomic risk across its facilities, including through annual updates, and investigate and implement controls to reduce ergonomic risk. The ball is in the company’s court. OSHA stands ready to work with their ergonomics team to evaluate their progress and verify the commitments they made to OSHA.”