Amazon’s Wage Raise Is a Small Price to Pay for Its Reputation
It makes sense to keep workers happy and blunt criticism that it exploits cheap labor.
By Shira Ovide
It seems Amazon.com Inc. really does care what people think about the company.
The company said on Tuesday that it would increase minimum pay to $15 an hour starting next month for full-time, part-time and seasonal workers as well as those hired by temporary staffing agencies. The pay of workers already making $15 an hour in its warehouses and customer service operations will increase as well, Amazon said. The company also announced hourly wage increases for the United Kingdom.
Retailers including Target and Walmart have been increasing wages in recent years as a tight labor market in the U.S. and pressure from labor advocates make it prudent to increase pay to attract better pool of job applicants, keep workers happy and dissuade them from leaving for better-paying work. (Disclosure: A family member works for a labor organization that advocates for increases to minimum wages.)
