Amazon to hike wages for contract delivery drivers - report
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Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will raise contracted drivers' pay as part of a $440M investment this year in its third-party delivery program, CNBC reported, although the exact amount was not disclosed. 
The company expects the delivery associates to earn $20.50 per hour on average, or more, plus benefits, it disclosed at the annual closed-door conference 'Ignite Live' with the small businesses that make up its delivery service partner (DSP) program. 
Amazon (AMZN) launched the program in 2018 to enable quicker deliveries and reduce reliance on traditional shipping companies like FedEx. The DSP program currently comprises about 279K drivers.
Beryl Tomay, Amazon's (AMZN) VP of last mile delivery and technology, told CNBC that DSPs are "free to set their own wages and incentives." 
While Amazon (AMZN) generally sets a minimum pay threshold, Tomay said DSP providers regularly pay higher wages.
The e-commerce giant has already invested about $8.9B in the DSP program so far, and DSPs have generated more than $45B in revenue over the past five years.
The moves comes amid Teamsters' efforts to unionize its delivery driver workforce. The labor union has set up picket lines at multiple Amazon (AMZN) warehouses in the U.S., calling on the company to address low pay and dangerous working conditions. 

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