Amid the global pandemic, some businesses and platforms have seen a surge of customers, and this is especially true with Amazon. The global delivery service platform has seen its highest profits in history, with an astounding £9,000 (approx. $11,000) every single second. The unprecedented accomplishment has led the company to give its workers a £2 (approx. $2.50) per hour increase in wages. It has also opened up 5,000 new job openings, both full-time and part-time.
Amazon has made a move to recognize its workers' efforts amid the coronavirus lockdown. Head of the UK branch, Doug Gurr, that they have also upgraded their warehouses to meet government standards in regards to social distancing protocols.
Gurr added that there had been more than 150 changes they derived from the World Health Organization's guidelines, and along with this, the company has created 5,000 full-time and part-time jobs.
A sharp jump
Shares of Amazon have seen an increase of more than a third in the past month alone, and customers from all around the world are making it possible to rake in £9,000 ($11,000) per second from its products and services.
Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, has been riding the surge to keep his place as the richest man in the world, having a net worth of £112 billion (approx. $138 billion).
Stocks rose by more than £5 billion (approx. $6.2 billion) in a single day last week, raising the company's net worth to over £1 trillion (approx. $1.2 trillion).
Not all good news
With its increased rates and fortified position, the company still battles out at its French operations, which has recently been closed down temporarily due to a court ruling due to insufficient safety measures against the deadly virus. This came along with staff protests about poor warehouse health safety.
Mr. Gurr wrote in a letter, 'We've increased the frequency and intensity of cleaning at our sites, adjusted our practices so that our employees can observe social distancing measures, and we are providing temperature checks, as well as masks and gloves.'
He also added the company is increasing the wages of its employees in recognition of their effort while battling the pandemic. They've added £2 ($2.50) per hour to the base salary of every employee.
Amazon has also opened up 5,000 full-time and part-time job openings to aid in giving working opportunities to those that need it due to the increase of closing companies.
The company has continued its operations amid the coronavirus pandemic, but it has faced quite a few delays in its deliveries.
The worldwide distributor states it is working closely with the government to provide testing to the UK in the fight against COVID-19. Amazon will be delivering test kits to several diagnostic sites around the UK and National Health Service (NHS) staff and other front liners.
The company also pledged £3.2 million (approx. $4 million) to the British Red Cross to support and aid the ongoing fight against the deadly virus all around the world.
