New York – The e-commerce giant Amazon said Tuesday that it plans to increase wages and improve conditions for its workers, a measure that could help keep its supply chain oiled in the face of increased demand. demand during Christmas.

The company, the second company in the country in number of employees after the Walmart chain, will invest 450 million dollars to finance salary increases and other benefits for drivers, it said in a statement.

The new programs offer enhanced benefits, including $5,250 per year for each eligible driver to access college degrees and more than 1,700 academic programs, as well as financial planning for the future.

The announcement comes as Amazon begins hiring for the holiday season.

It also comes as, according to The Wall Street Journal, the company has restructured the logistics network after it grew too quickly during the pandemic.

However, Amazon continues to put legal obstacles to annul a historic union election of the company in the US.

In April, more than 2,600 workers at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York warehouse, known as JFK8, voted to join the Amazon Workers Union, becoming the first group to vote to unionize at one of the US facilities. from Amazon.

The company in May tried to overturn the election results, raising 25 objections in its filing and claiming that labor organizers intimidated workers into voting in favor.

This month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recommended that the e-commerce giant’s objections be rejected.

The US e-commerce giant has until September 16 to appeal the recommendations of Lisa Dunn, the NLRB’s attorney, which will then be heard by a regional director of the organization.

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