Amazon doubles salary caps for corporate workers to $350,000

Amazon is more than doubling its base salary up to $ 350,000 for some corporate and tech employees, citing increased competition for tech talent.

According to an internal note, first reported by GeekWire, the tight labor market is pushing Amazon to raise the wages of corporate workers faster and faster than it normally would.

The company said it “is increasing global compensation ranges for most jobs globally, and the increases are far more significant than we’ve done in the past,” according to GeekWire.

An Amazon spokesman confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch the veracity of the note, but declined to comment further.

“This past year has seen a particularly competitive job market and by doing a thorough analysis of several options, weighing the economy of our business and the need to remain competitive to attract and retain the best talent, we decided to make significant increases. higher in our compensation. levels we do in a normal year, “the note said, according to Geekwire and Bloomberg.

The change doesn’t mean that all of Amazon’s corporate employees will see an immediate increase. Rather, the measure gives Amazon more flexibility to raise the wages of some workers in a world where employees feel increasingly empowered to move elsewhere.

“Because the compensation is unique to each employee (taking into account their performance, work family, and market conditions), these updates to the basic wage cap and total compensation ranges will affect each employee differently.” the company said in the note.

Strong competition for technological talent

He Coronavirus pandemic and its consequences have stimulated millions of workers to change jobs or start your own business in what has been christened as “Great resignation.” Last year, 47 million people, nearly 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, quit their jobs, according to the Department of Labor.

The competition is especially fierce for skilled tech workers. In December, Apple gave many employees six-figure surprise bonuses, some as high as $ 180,000, to prevent employees from camping off Facebook’s parent company Meta, which has hired many Apple employees. Google’s father, Alphabet, said last month that he would increase the salaries of four executives by more than $ 1 million, although he has refused to adjust the salaries of other workers for inflation, according to The Verge.

According to the New York Times and Insider, Amazon has long limited the base salary of most corporate employees to $ 160,000, well below its technology competitors, and has offset the rest with generous stock awards. But with the slowdown in its rich stock price growth, Amazon’s relatively low base salary has frustrated many tech-savvy workers, according to reports. More than 50 vice presidents have left over the past year, and vice president turnover has risen to 10 percent, Insider reported.

Employee message boards on Reddit and Blind indicate that there is confusion about when and how Amazon wage increases will be implemented, or whether workers will see their future subsidies reduced to offset higher wages.

Amazon has been in full swing since the pandemic and the online shopping boom it generated, dramatically increased their income and labor armies. Its global workforce is now 1.6 million, according to the company’s latest earnings report. Retail giant warehouse workers start at an average of $ 18 an hour some get hiring bonuses of up to $ 3,000.

But rising labor costs are also affecting the company’s profits. Amazon recently raised the Prime subscription price from $ 20 to $ 139 a year, in part in response to higher costs.

In:
• Amazon