Amazon Will Give Employees $10,000 to Start a Delivery Business

There’s a new opportunity brewing that has entrepreneurs’ and Amazon employees’ ears on fire. In a recent move on the quest to attain one-day delivery, Amazon will give employees $10,000 in addition to the equivalent of 3 months’ salary to start their own delivery business. While some are excited about the money and opportunity, others aren’t so positive, arguing against Amazon embracing the unfair gig economy model.

Why Amazon Will Give Employees $10,000 Plus 3 Months’ Pay

This is all part of Amazon’s plan to make one-day delivery the standard for all Prime orders across America. Amazon needs a whole lot of manpower in order to achieve that goal. By offering $10,000, the company hopes to lure enough people to start their own delivery businesses and do Amazon’s bidding.

This new incentive is part of Amazon’s new Delivery Service Partner Plan. With that program, Amazon contracts out more and more to private delivery partners rather than relying on the major shipping carriers. In addition to the $10,000, the program includes perks such as access to Amazon’s delivery technology and hands-on training. Amazon private delivery partners also enjoy several other discounts and benefits like insurance and vehicle leasing.

Do I Need to Be an Amazon Employee?

You don’t have to be a current Amazon employee if you’re interested in becoming an Amazon private delivery partner. However, before signing up, note that only current Amazon employees are eligible to receive the $10,000 plus 3 months’ pay. Also, these financial incentives are only available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Spain.

Want to drive and deliver for Amazon? Visit Amazon’s private delivery partner sign-up page.

The Mixed Reaction to the News

The public reaction to Amazon’s incentives has been mixed, to say the least. Some entrepreneurial individuals are excited about the $10,000 incentive, while others are skeptical and downright upset. On the website TechCrunch, one user expressed his favor.

“I am not an employee,” he wrote. “However I do drive a cargo van as a private contractor, and will keep my eye out for more information on this opportunity.”

While this particular TechCrunch user is sensing opportunity, not everyone out there shares the same sentiment. Instead, they are complaining about Prime’s frustrating delivery methods and the idea that Amazon has become a monopoly.

Another TechCrunch user wrote, “I don’t want Amazon Prime flunkies delivering to my house. Amazon leaves packages on the sidewalk. Amazon needs to use delivery services like UPS, FedEx, or USPS where I can go pick it up and the never leave it on my sidewalk. I have cancelled my Amazon Prime because of this and the fact that Amazon has become a monopoly and needs to be split into smaller companies.”

“They want to turn their employees into gig economy workers who take on all the risks and receive few of the benefits,” a third user wrote.

Amazon Still Needs the Postal Service

No matter how many private delivery partnerships the company strikes, one fact remains true. Amazon will still need to rely on USPS to complete its last mile delivery. When compared to the Postal Service’s nationwide delivery network, private couriers simply can’t compete. This is especially true for rural areas and remote addresses that private delivery partners can’t reach with the same efficiency as USPS. Not even the other major carriers can deliver to these locations as well as USPS. In fact, both UPS and FedEx still heavily rely on USPS for last mile delivery, as well.

Simply put, the US Postal Service is the only carrier legally allowed to touch every residential address in the country. No amount of private delivery partners will affect that. That’s exactly why Amazon needs USPS…and that’s not going to change any time soon.