Amazon workers are getting free Prime memberships
CNN
Amazon is raising pay for its more than 800,000 US warehouse and transportation workers and giving them free Prime accounts for the first time.
Amazon is raising pay for its more than 800,000 US warehouse and transportation workers and giving them Amazon Prime for free. Amazon, one of the country’s largest private employers, announced Wednesday that it will raise wages by at least $1.50 an hour, bringing the company’s average starting wage to more than $22 an hour. Amazon will also offer the $139 yearly Prime benefit to employees for free. Amazon’s decision to raise wages is another sign of a tight jobs market for logistics workers, fueled by more Americans shopping online. The labor market has cooled considerably during the past year, but the economy is still adding jobs. The average hourly wage for transportation and warehouse workers rose to $30.79 in August, up 22% from August of 2020, according to the Labor Department. In July, more than 460,000 jobs were unfilled in the transportation and warehouse sector, the Labor Department said. Rivals such as UPS, Walmart and Target have also bumped up wages for warehouse workers. UPS struck a five-year deal with the Teamsters union last year that included a jump in starting pay to $23 an hour during the contract. Amazon’s wage hike comes ahead of the holiday season, typically the busiest online shopping stretch of the year. Sales are expected to climb by up to 3.3% this holiday stretch, Deloitte predicted in a report last week. Online sales will grow by up to 9%.
Nippon Steel is expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators of its $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
So far, the attacks that targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah members through their pagers have had devastating consequences. At least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed, and at least 2,800 were wounded. Over 150 of those injured are in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health minister.