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- Amazon is offering employees $10,000, and the equivalent of three months gross salary to start their own delivery businesses as part of its existing Delivery Service Partner program.
- Since launching in June 2018, 200 small businesses have launched to deliver Amazon packages.
- Amazon is growing its network of delivery drivers at a rapid rate to enable it to meet its new one-day shipping promises.
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Amazon needs more drivers to fulfill its one-day shipping promises, so it’s paying employees to set up their own delivery companies.
Amazon announced Monday that it will offer current employees $10,000 and the equivalent of three months of their gross salary to help them set up their own delivery businesses as part of its Delivery Service Partner program.
Since launching in June 2018, 200 small businesses have joined this program and are delivering Amazon packages. These delivery partners are required to register online and make a minimum investment of $10,000 to set up shop.
Amazon has been on a hiring spree in recent months as it looks to add more delivery partners after announcing that it would be reducing its speedy two-day shipping policy down to one-day only.
Now, it’s looking to tap into another resource – its current employees.
"We received overwhelming interest from tens of thousands of individuals who applied to be part of the Delivery Service Partner program, including many employees," Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, said in a press release on Monday.
He continued: "We’ve heard from associates that they want to participate in the program but struggled with the transition. Now we have a path for those associates with an appetite for opportunities to own their own businesses."
These budding entrepreneurs are kept safe in the knowledge that they will be busy thanks to the "consistent delivery volume," Amazon said in a statement to the press. They will also have access to the company’s delivery technology and discounts on Amazon-branded vans, uniform, and insurance.
Amazon did not disclose the exact terms of this new initiative or whether these new business owners would be required to pay back the funds at a later date, or be liable if the business fails. A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on this.
The new initiative also ties in with recent news that Amazon is rolling out new technology at its fulfillment centers to automate jobs held by thousands of its workers. This new delivery option could be a way for Amazon to offer workers, who have had their jobs replaced by machines, the chance to move into other arms of the business.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Mary Hanbury)