Workers wouldn’t get paid more but would have promotion opportunities.
According to a letter to contractors viewed by CNBC, Amazon, which is known for its large usage of gig labor, is reversing that logic. A few of its supermarket “shoppers,” who pick products from shelves to help fulfill delivery orders, have been offered Whole Foods jobs.
“We are moving online grocery-fulfillment operations now handled by Amazon to Whole Foods Market by the end of the year to help continue to offer the greatest experience for our staff and consumers,” the letter states. “The bulk of stores will make this shift gradually.” By the end of 2022, shoppers will become Whole Foods employees, according to a spokeswoman.
The jobs don’t offer the benefits seen by Amazon’s warehouse employees or full-time Whole Foods employees, like medical benefits and 401K contributions. In fact, workers would appear to get longer shifts, less flexibility, and keep their existing status levels and pay rates — but there would be some opportunities for promotion, according to a job listing.
- Prime members save $80 on Amazon’s Eero Pro 6 mesh WiFi system.
- All of Amazon’s physical bookshops and ‘4-star’ outlets are closing.
Amazon said that it’s aiming to “create a more unified team culture,” with the changes. It is promising flexibility, but schedules would be made up to three weeks in advance and cover two-week periods. By contrast, gig shoppers can currently work “as little as four hours per week” and have “shift flexibility,” according to a recent job posting.
Amazon recently announced that it was closing all of its bookstores, pop-up shops and 4-star stores in a shift in its retail strategy. It’s not clear why it’s shifting shopper contractors to Whole Foods employment, but not all workers are happy. “This is supposed to be a side gig for a lot of people,” a gig worker told CNBC in an email. “If there are changes in terms of shift scheduling/length, I can easily see a lot of people leaving.”
