Catherwood LibraryILR School

Amazon, long plagued by stories of poor working conditions and low wages in its warehouses, has decided to increase the minimum wage for its workers in the US and UK, to $15 and £9.50 respectively. The increase in base pay means that Amazon’s British workers will effectively receive a pay raise of 28% in London and 18% elsewhere, while the lowest paid US workers will receive an increase of 36%. CEO Jeff Bezos commented that “we listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead.” Some economists theorized that the move was necessary due to labor shortages. Decreasing unemployment levels in the US have helped workers demand higher pay, resulting in the fastest wage increases in nine years. In the UK, companies have found it harder to recruit staff, due to a decrease in the number of EU workers since the Brexit vote.