Quick Summary:
Amazon has launched the $20 million AWS Diagnostic Initiative to accelerate COVID-19 research. In Europe, the company committed €21 million (almost $23 million USD) to support those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon has also filled 100,000 new jobs since March, and is adding 75,000 more to help meet customer demand and assist existing employees fulfilling orders for essential products.
Employees:
Amazon’s top concern is ensuring the health and safety of employees. Amazon has made over 150 process updates—from enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures to piloting new efforts like disinfectant fog in a New York fulfillment center. Amazon distributed personal protective gear, such as masks for employees, and implemented temperature checks across operations worldwide and is working on building scalable testing for coronavirus.
Amazon has also filled 100,000 new jobs since March, and is adding 75,000 more to help meet customer demand and assist existing employees fulfilling orders for essential products.
Among other things such as, increased pay for hourly employees and doubled regular hourly base pay for overtime hours, Amazon has also established a $25 million relief fund for partners (e.g. delivery drivers) and seasonal associates facing financial hardship or quarantine.
Amazon published annual letter to shareholders from Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO. Read the letter here.
Customers:
Amazon is working to increase capacity for grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market as quickly as possible, while enhancing cleaning at all Whole Foods Market stores and are now open one hour early for customers who are 60+ years old in the U.S. (70+ years old in the UK).
Customers ordering delivery from Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market can select “unattended delivery” during checkout if they prefer not to come into contact with others. Amazon is focusing on high-priority items to ensure the fastest delivery of household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers.
Amazon is vigorously combating price gouging to help protect customers, help ensure fair pricing, and combat those seeking to profit off the COVID-19 crisis.
Communities around the globe:
Amazon has launched the $20 million AWS Diagnostic Initiative to accelerate COVID-19 research. In Europe, the company committed €21 million (almost $23 million USD) to support those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the U.S., Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to Feeding America. Amazon also hired 100,000 full- and part-time employees, and is now hiring an additional 75,000. Amazon is looking for talent in every community in which it operates.
Amazon also launched a $5 million grant fund to support small businesses in Seattle, while AWS is supporting the White House’s COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, providing computing resources to advance research on diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine studies.
Last, but not least, Amazon is supporting virtual classrooms with no-cost resources from AWS and Amazon Future Engineer, donating 8,200 laptops to Seattle Public Schools students who do not have access to a device at home, and through the Amazon Future Engineer program, Amazon is donating 4,000 laptops to high school students across the U.S. and making new online computer science resources, including exam prep, free.