While signs of recovery from the virus are still at the end of the tunnel, Amazon.com Inc. strives to keep its chain running.
Spread across all continents operating in well over 150 countries around the globe and having over 7,50,000 employees, Amazon has become the largest e-commerce platform in the United States and is among the "Big Four" tech companies. With such a huge network, the company has been instrumental in assisting the COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.
The e-commerce giant granted a time-off without penalty for the workers uncomfortable and unwilling to work during the pandemic, and an increased pay of $2 per hour for American employees, C$2 for Canadian and €2 for European employees straight up till April. In an update mentioned in a blog post, the company stated the extension of the increased hourly pay till May 16. "We doubled the regular hourly base pay for every overtime hour worked and are offering extra time off with full pay for those diagnosed with COVID-19", it added. Amazon has asked its warehouse employees to return for scheduled shifts commencing from Friday, May 1.
The company also stated that the employees currently diagnosed or presumed positive with the COVID-19 will be given a two weeks of paid time off, in addition to the other paid and unpaid time off options. The company asserted its support for the employees uncomfortable to work and chose to stay at home. However, it did not mention unlimited unpaid time off.
In order to deal with the sudden flow of demands and ensuring the availability of staff, Amazon informed that it has hired more than 1,00,000 new workers and has set off more than 75,000 full and part time positions in the United States.
While many employees chose to stay home to take care of their families amid lockdown, several others have been seen doing walkouts and protesting about Amazon's efforts for their workforce, however the company increased the sanitisation efforts in its offices and compelled the staff to maintain preventive measures, amid surge in orders since the pandemic started.
"We have established the Amazon Relief Fund with a $25 million initial contribution to support independent delivery service partners and their drivers, Amazon Flex participants, and seasonal employees under financial distress during this challenging time. We are offering all of these groups the ability to apply for grants approximately equal to up to two weeks of pay if diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine", stated the company.
Ensuring the safety of its employees and decreasing risk of accidental spread by infected people, Amazon has been conducting temperature checks for their staff and assets in the United States and Europe. The company also told that millions of masks are being given to the employees, and by early April N-95 masks had reached each of their employees and stocks of the same are made accessible for governments and other organisations via Amazon Business.
For its staff, Amazon is conducting regular sanitisation of offices, with emphasis laid on frequently touched objects like door handles and touchscreens. Additional measures include the construction of a new laboratory for testing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and transforming the workplaces which will avoid congestion of employees at one place.
Benefitting from the new growth in demand, the company has made more profits than ever, adding more than $24 Billion to the wealth of Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com Inc. and further cementing his position as the richest man in the world.
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