There has been a shift recently among the major U.S companies, in which case they have been offering perks to their workers as incentives. The benefits offered range from supporting educational programs to increase their pay.
Supporting the workforce
Amazon follows suit, and that is through paying the full college tuition fees for its hourly employees. Qualifying employees will be those that have worked for 90 days and above.
The major retailer says it will pay for the high school diploma programs for those employees. The others are English for workers that wish to learn it as a second language and GEDs. In addition, it has operational workers in the different business segments such as the distribution centers and the expansive network of warehouses.
Amazon outlined all the areas it intends to cover, pointing out the hundreds of education institutions spread out across the country. It was sometime back that it took to paying 95% tuition fees for all the hourly associates. Reports indicate that it did so through its career choice program.
Rivals doing the same thing
Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) seem to be making tremendous steps forward in the same direction. For example, in August, Target unveiled a program covering the costs of undergraduate and associate degrees in some schools.
Later in July, Walmart followed suit when it decided to pay for100% of the costs of books and the college tuition fees. Analysts say that it is a trend that seems rather evident, and it is about survival in a competitive labor market.
Amazon has quickly noticed the competitiveness in the job market but believes that the incentives to lure workers will work for it in the long run. There are also reports that the giant retailer is providing sign-on bonuses to all persons that want to work with it.
