SEATTLE, WA - Amazon continues to make waves on the newswire as of late. The e-tail giant pledged $2 billion in a sustainability initiative and most recently made a landmark $1 billion acquisition. Now, the behemoth is dropping another half billion, this time as “Thank You Bonuses” to front-line workers who were with the company throughout the month of June.

“Our front-line operations teams have been on an incredible journey over the last few months, and we want to show our appreciation with a special one-time Thank You bonus totaling over $500 million,” said Amazon Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations Dave Clark.

The move comes after the e-commerce giant eliminated a $2 hourly wage bump and double overtime pay for frontline workers at the end of May. Clark released a notice detailing full-time employees of Amazon, Amazon-owned Whole Foods, or drivers for delivery service partners will get $500; part-time employees or drivers will get $250; front-line leaders at Amazon and Whole Foods will get $1,000; and delivery service partner owners, who help get packages to customers, will get $3,000. Drivers for Amazon Flex who worked more than 10 hours in June will get $150.

According to CNN, Amazon stated it has taken a variety of steps to prevent the spread of the virus, including making more than 150 “process changes” to its operations to enhance safety. When reporting its first-quarter earnings, the e-tailer said it spent more than $600 million on coronavirus-related costs during the first three months of the year and said it expected these costs could grow to at least $4 billion in the second quarter.

AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the latest in the retail and grocery sector.

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