Amazon Is Extending Worker Raises Until May 30 to Meet Demand

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Amazon.com Inc. is extending a $2-an-hour raise for warehouse workers through May 30, a sign that employees continue to fret about catching Covid-19 despite stepped-up cleaning and other precautionary measures.

“We are also extending double overtime pay in the U.S. and Canada,” Amazon said in an email Wednesday. “These extensions increase our total investment in pay during Covid-19 to nearly $800 million for our hourly employees and partners.”

The raise was set to expire May 16. This is the second time Amazon has extended it.

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Amazon has been overwhelmed with demand because many stores are closed, and shoppers are staying home to avoid exposure. The company announced plans to hire 175,000 additional people to keep up and in March instituted temporary $2-per-hour raises for hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers earning at least $15 an hour. Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. are among other grocers that have also offered temporary raises.

Companies allowed to operate through the pandemic, such as supermarkets, warehouses and transportation firms, are benefiting from a boost in demand and a labor market swollen with newly unemployed workers. But their treatment of workers has drawn regulatory scrutiny as well as protests from employees worried about catching Covid-19 at work and bringing it home to their families.

Amazon workers have demonstrated in New York, Chicago and Minnesota demanding better treatment, and several lawmakers have written letters asking the company to be more transparent about the scope of infections in its facilities around the country.

Amazon last month said it expected to spend $4 billion in the current quarter on various measures to keep operating while also keeping workers safe. The money is being spent on temporary raises, masks and temperature checks for workers as well as enhanced cleaning of its warehouses.

News about the pay raise extension was reported earlier by Recode.

“In addition, we are providing flexibility with leave of absence options, including expanding the policy to cover Covid-19 circumstances, such as high-risk individuals or school closures,” Amazon said. “We continue to see heavy demand during this difficult time and the team is doing incredible work for our customers and the community.”

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