According to a Reuter report, Amazon.com Inc plans to more than double its base pay cap to $350,000, from its previous maximum salary of $160,000 for U.S. employees, according to a company memo.
The memo does suggest the increase in compensation will be applicable for most jobs globally. The hike will allow Amazon to hire the best talent in the industry and also retain its top core.
The e-commerce giant will increase the overall compensation range for most jobs globally and the company said the increases were much more “considerable” than in the past.
“This past year has seen a particularly competitive labor market,” according to the memo, which added that there was a “need to remain competitive for attracting and retaining top talent”.
Last year, Amazon increased its average starting wage for operations staff in the United States to more than $18 an hour, against the backdrop of a tight U.S. labor market.
Amazon will review the compensation for newly promoted employees at the time of promotion and give in-year stock awards, if required, to get them in the new pay range, the memo said.
Last week, Amazon reported the greatest ever one-day increase in value. Shares of the online retail and cloud computing giant surged 13.5 percent on February 4 following its blowout quarterly report, expanding its market capitalisation by around $190 billion (roughly Rs. 14,18,200 crore) by the end of trading.
The e-commerce giant employed 1.6 million people globally as of December 31, including warehouse workers who are paid hourly and office staff who earn annual salaries. However, Amazon has not clarified how many employees would receive the bump in pay announced on Monday.
