Yahoo Finance Amazon offers employees thousands of pounds to set up delivery firms
Amazon is offering UK employees thousands of pounds to quit their jobs and set up as independent delivery businesses in an effort to keep delivery capacity up with demand.
The retail giant will offer UK fulfillment centre employees a grant equivalent to three months salary, around £5,000 for a full-time worker earning Amazon's £9.50 per hour wage outside of London, to turn self-employed and run their own delivery business.
The scheme will offer employees training and “consistent package delivery volume” from Amazon. Employees will be offered discounts on buying “branded uniforms” and Amazon delivery vans for their work.
Amazon said it expected dozens of UK employees to become delivery drivers, which it said in turn would create further work across the UK.
The retail giant is trying to find new ways to add to its delivery network as it seeks to speed packages in parts of the UK to as little as one hour through its Prime delivery service.
Doug Gurr, Amazon’s UK country leader. “We are excited to launch an initiative to help make the dreams of employees who have always wanted to run their own business come true. Customer demand is higher than ever and we have a need to build more delivery capacity.”
Amazon has taken to adding extra training benefits to those who work in its delivery centres. It said around 2,000 people had taken part in its career guidance programme, with offers of up to £8,000 for skills training.
But the retail giant has also come under pressure over working conditions in its fulfillment centres, which employ thousands of people in the UK. This has included protests from the workers' union the GMB around major sales days such as Black Friday.
The news also comes amid reports that Amazon is considering installing new box packing machines at dozens of warehouses, according to Reuters, that could remove around 24 jobs in each fulfillment centre.
