Amazon Pours $2.1 Billion Into Contract Delivery, Lifting Wages

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend an additional $2.1 billion on its contract delivery program, including safety programs, training and additional pay for the contracting firms.

The company says it expects the outlays to raise average pay for drivers, who pilot Amazon-branded vans but technically work for independent companies that Amazon calls Delivery Service Partners, to almost $22 an hour, up 7% from a year earlier.

Contractors and their teams “go to great lengths to take care of Amazon customers, and that’s why we want to support DSPs with our biggest investment yet,” Beryl Tomay, an Amazon vice president, said in ...