Amazon cuts benefits and bonuses after raising wages
Amazon is eliminating its monthly bonuses and stock awards for workers after the company announced it would increase its minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.
Amazon.Com Inc.
$173.67
13:09 25/04/24
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12:15 25/04/24
Warehouse workers for the retail giant could receive monthly bonuses that could total hundreds of dollars per month as well as stock awards, but now the company will cut those benefits to help pay for the minimum wage raise, reported Bloomberg on Thursday.
The cuts could cost thousands of workers £1,500 in a single year according to the GMB union, which accused the company of imposing “a stealth tax on its own wage increase”.
Furthermore, the workers currently receive one Amazon share, worth $1,961 at the end of every year working at the company and an additional share every five years which they can cash tax free if they hold on them for two years. The loss of that payout could amount to half the £3,120 rise in pay promised.
Tim Roache, the GMB’s general secretary, said: “This is a basically a stealth tax by the employer on its own wage increase – a clear case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
“If Jeff Bezos – the richest man in the world – really wants to give hardworking staff a pay rise, he should let them keep their share options as well as increasing their hourly rate.”
The company said in a statement that despite the bonuses cut, workers will see their total compensation increase: “In addition, because it’s no longer incentive-based, the compensation will be more immediate and predictable,” Amazon said.
“Hourly fulfilment and customer service employees [said] that they prefer the predictability and immediacy of cash [to share bonuses]”.
MOST VALUABLE BRAND IN THE WORLD
Despite the controversy surrounding its labor policy, Amazon has been ranked with Apple and Google as the top three most valuable brands in the world, according to an annual report from Interbrand.
In the Interbrand Best Global Brands report, Apple and Google have held the top two spots for six consecutive year.
Charles Trevail, chief executive of Interbrand, said: “Today we live in a world where consumers have more power than ever, curating their own personal brands in ways we’ve never seen. Brands like Amazon, Spotify and Netflix lead the way in this era by improving our lives in very personal ways.”
Netflix was the only one of the Faang stocks – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google – to be outside the top 10.