The offering is the latest effort by Amazon to discourage its workers from staying if they don’t want to stay. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had previously talked about the company’s “Pay to Quit” program in a shareholder letter five years ago.
“We want people working at Amazon who want to be here,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC’s Make It last year.
“Since the launch of the Delivery Service Partner program in June 2018, Amazon has enabled the creation of more than 200 new small businesses that have hired thousands of local drivers to deliver packages to Amazon customers,” Amazon said in Monday’s statement. “This year, the company plans to add hundreds of more new businesses, starting with employees-turned-business-owners. Additionally, this program offering has expanded to employees in the UK and Spain.”
Amazon workers who sign up for the program will also get discounts on “Amazon-branded vans customized for delivery, branded uniforms and comprehensive insurance,” the company said. Delivery service owners running 20 to 40 vans can expect to bring in annual revenues of $1 million to $4.5 million, with profits of $75,000 to $300,000, Amazon says in a brochure about the program. However, the company does not guarantee results of any kind, including that a delivery company’s earnings will exceed the owner’s investment in the business.
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Not everyone who applies gets a slot, as a list of questions and answers about the program warns that it’s “highly competitive” as there are a limited number of openings. Applicants should be prepared to work hard, the company said, as they will have to run a full-time business that involves hiring and training a team of drivers. The program “would not be a good fit” for people who want to make a passive investment or work part-time, Amazon said.