Amazon More Than Doubles Maximum Base Pay for Corporate Employees The company is increasing maximum base pay for corporate and tech employees to $350,000.
By Emily Rella Edited by Amanda Breen
Amazon made headlines last week when the company announced that it would be raising prices of its beloved Prime service by 17% for new and existing subscribers, citing inflation and the need to offset pandemic-related costs (namely in transportation and labor.)
Shares of the company skyrocketed late last Thursday thanks to an impressive earnings report from Q4 2021, which showed a 9% year-over-year sales increase and total revenue of $137.4 billion — and now the company is looking ahead in a positive light.
On Tuesday, Amazon revealed to employees that it would be increasing maximum base pay for tech and corporate employees by more than double to a solid $350,000 (up from $160,000.)
"This past year has seen a particularly competitive labor market and in doing a thorough analysis of various options, weighing the economics of our business and the need to remain competitive for attracting and retaining top talent, we decided to make meaningfully bigger increases to our compensation levels than we do in a typical year," Amazon said in a memo to employees obtained by Geekwire.
Amazon did not disclose exactly how much the salary bumps would cost the company as a whole, but noted that proper compensation up to the new maximum amount would be evaluated based on the individual employee's performance, area of work and conditions of the market at the time.
It's important to note that the bump in maximum base pay is even more substantial to Amazon employees than it would be in other companies because Amazon corporate and tech employees are compensated with certain stock awards in the company, the values of which can fluctuate based on the market.
Related: Customers Calling to 'Cancel' Amazon Prime After New Price Hikes Announced
The new pay structure will also change the way equity in the company is given to employees based on promotional cycles.
"Managers will review compensation at the time of a promotion, and issue additional stock awards mid-year as warranted, rather than waiting until the next annual compensation cycle," Geekwire reported.
Overall compensation for employees globally will also be increased, though the company did not disclose by how much that would be.
The doubling down on employees comes after a report at the end of last year claimed that workers "struggled" for fair compensation and PTO after being injured on the job.
"I've been having to fight Amazon for time off and money," 21-year-old employee Chloe Roberson said at the time. "I have not had a single day that I haven't been an absolute sobbing mess because of the stress Amazon continues to put me through."
Amazon also faced worker walkouts in two Chicago-area facilities ahead of the holiday season after claiming they were given shorter break times and that the company refused to raise wages.
Shares of the company were down around 4% year over year as of Tuesday afternoon.
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