Amazon Raising Front-Line Worker Wages

Amazon is raising wages for its front-line workers, and introducing a benefit that lets them collect their pay at any time during the month.

As the company said in a news release Wednesday (Sept. 28) evening, the average starting pay for front-line employees in customer fulfillment and transportation will rise from $18 per hour to more than $19 per hour, with employees earning between $16 and $26 per hour depending on their position and where they’re based in the U.S.

“Front-line employees across customer fulfillment and transportation will now earn, on average, more than $19 per hour in the U.S., and they also have access to a growing range of comprehensive benefits to support themselves and their families,” Amazon Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations John Felton said in the release.

See also: Amazon Expands Free College Tuition Offer to 750K Workers

Meanwhile, Amazon has expanded its Anytime Pay program to all employees, letting workers employees access up to 70% of their eligible earned pay as often as they like, rather than once a month or every two weeks.

Amazon says it will also invest more in career development programs with the addition of the Amazon Intelligence Initiative, designed to put employees in engineering jobs with Amazon Web Services (AWS), working on AWS’s Dedicated Cloud regions.

Employees take a 12- to 14-month course to build their technical skills before beginning on-the-job rotations while being provided full-time employment during training.

The news comes two months after Amazon expanded its free college tuition offer to employees across the U.S., covering the cost of classes, books and other fees. The company said this year marks the 10th anniversary of its Career Choice program, which also covers high school diplomas, GEDs and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for its front-line workers.

See also: Amazon Encourages Customer Service Staff to Work From Home

This week also saw reports that Amazon has been encouraging its customer service staff to work from home to help save on real estate costs.

The shift is reportedly part of a broader strategy to close some call centers throughout the country — including one in Kennewick, Washington that has been in operation since 2005.

“We’re offering additional members of our customer service team the increased flexibility that comes with working virtually,” Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser said. “We’re working with employees to make sure their transition is seamless while continuing to prioritize best-in-class support for customers.”