Economy & Business

Amazon to give $500M in special holiday bonuses to front-line employees

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2020/11/27 17:17

Today's Vocabulary

1. wage (n)
a particular amount of money that is paid, usually every week, to an employee, especially one who does work that needs physical skills or strength, rather than a job needing a college education

2. role (n)
the position or purpose that someone or something has in a situation, organization, society, or relationship

3. applauded (v)
to show enjoyment or approval of something such as a performance or speech by clapping the hands repeatedly to make a noise

4. qualify (v)
 to successfully finish a training course so that you are able to do a job; to have or achieve the necessary skills, etc

5. workforce (n)
the group of people who work in a company, industry, country, etc.

6. incentive (n)
something that encourages a person to do something

7. recognition (n)
public appreciation for a person’s or group’s achievements

Amazon to give $500M in special holiday bonuses to front-line employees

Amazon is recognizing the continued hard work of its employees during the coronavirus pandemic with a special bonus ahead of the holiday season.

Full-time U.S. operations employees who work for the e-commerce giant between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 will qualify for a $300 bonus, while part-time employees will receive a $150 bonus, Amazon wrote in a blog post Thursday.

“I’m grateful to our teams who continue to play a vital role serving their communities, Amazon Worldwide Operations senior vice president Dave Clark said in a statement, “As we head into the peak of the holiday season, we want to share our appreciation through another special recognition bonus, totaling more than $500 million for our front-line employees.”

The executive applauded the “amazing work serving customers’ essential needs, while also helping to bring some much-needed holiday cheer for socially-distanced families around the world.”

Clark added. “I’ve never been more grateful for—or proud of—our teams.”

The latest one-time bonus comes in addition to a separate round of $500 million in payments to front-line employees in June. The company also has a $15 per hour minimum wage for U.S. employees. The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour.

Amazon estimates that, combined with other holiday incentives, it will invest over $750 million in additional pay for its front-line hourly workforce in the current quarter alone, bringing the total spent on special bonuses and incentives across its global workforce to over $2.5 billion in 2020.

Resource: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/amazon-recognizes-front-line-employees-with-special-holiday-bonus

Discussion
  1. How important is work for you?
  2. What did you think when you read the headline?
  3. How do managers balance keeping workers happy with their salaries and working conditions while increasing productivity? 

The company must not throw money away on huge bonuses for executives or other frivolities but must share its fate with the workers.

Akio Morita

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