Amazon staff to receive $500m in Christmas pay bonuses

The online retail giant will give all full-time staff who are employed from December 1 to December 31 a £300 bonus, while part-time workers will receive £150.

The move comes after a high-octane year for Amazon as many shoppers relied on online retail as stores shut during various global lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision follows scrutiny on the safety of the firm’s operations, particularly in the US where staff have protested about a lack of Covid safety measures in its warehouses.

The online giant, which began its Black Friday sale a month early this year, tripled its quarterly profits last month to $6.3bn (£4.9bn).

In a blog post, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations Dave Clark said he was “grateful to our teams who continue to play a vital role serving their communities”.

He added: “This brings our total spent on special bonuses and incentives for our teams globally to over $2.5bn (£1.84bn) in 2020 including a $500m (£374m) thank-you bonus earlier this year.

“Our teams are doing amazing work serving customers’ essential needs, while also helping to bring some much-needed holiday cheer for socially distanced families around the world. I’ve never been more grateful for, or proud of, our teams.”