Amazon will give front-line workers an extra $500 million in bonuses by the end of the year

• Amazon said it will give out $500 million in bonuses.
• In December, full-time employees will get $300 bonuses and part-time employees will get $150 bonuses.
• Other retailers like Walmart and Home Deport have made similar moves.

Amazon will pay out $500 million in holiday bonuses to front-line workers, the company said in a blog post Thursday.

The money will be payed out in $300 bonuses for full-time employees, and $150 bonuses for part-time employees. Including this money, Amazon says it has paid more than $2.5 billion in bonuses to front-line workers this year. It paid another $500 million in bonuses in June.

The coronavirus had led to a surge in e-commerce spending, and Amazon has reported huge earnings this year. The online retailers warehouses around the country remained open, potentially putting employees at risk for infection. In October, Amazon reported an infection rate of 1.44% among its front-line workers. 19,816 front-line workers at Amazon and Whole Foods, which it owns, tested positive out of more than 1,300,000 workers according to the company.

Other retailers benefitting from the e-commerce boom have offered similar bonuses to employees. Home Depot added $1 billion in pay to workers in the form of weekly bonuses and more paid time off, and the company recently announced that these changes would become permanent.

Walmart has also paid out over $1 billion in bonuses this year, with a $428 million bonus program for associates in August. Employees received either $300 or $150 depending on their hours, the exact same amounts promised by Amazon.