Exclusive: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers

By Krystal Hu

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Saturday it is raising overtime pay for associates working in its U.S. warehouses, as the world’s largest online retailer tries to meet the rapidly growing demand for online shopping from consumers stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Hourly workers at the warehouses will receive double pay for overtime, up from the 1.5-times rate, from March 15 to May 9, the announcement said.

“All hourly associates working in the U.S. Ops network will receive double their regular hourly rate for every overtime hour worked in a workweek,” the company said in a statement. “This temporary increased overtime pay is effective March 15, 2020 and will continue through May 9. 2020.”

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York and Rebekah Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth Li and Diane Craft)