Amazon today announced two new value-added services to empower its Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) to offer best-in-class benefits for their drivers—and one of them is a 401(k) plan.
The addition of a 401(k) plan to the suite of services available to DSPs comes with the carrot that Amazon is providing an estimated $60 million over the first year to help these small business owners match employee contributions.
Amazon will provide DSPs with that estimated $60 million in the first year to help offset the costs for DSPs that match employee contributions to their teams’ retirement savings and reimburse 100% of the administrative costs
More than 70% of DSP drivers expressed that retirement savings is a critical benefit, which is why Seattle-based Amazon said it will now offer a 401(k) program to U.S. based DSPs and support owners in matching contributions for drivers. Amazon will provide DSPs with that estimated $60 million in the first year to help offset the costs for DSPs that match employee contributions to their teams’ retirement savings and reimburse 100% of the administrative costs through a leading provider of retirement savings benefits.
The other new value-added service is a new academic program, Next Mile, which will provide drivers employed by participating DSPs with up to $5,250 per year to access more than 1,700 academic programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees, skill certifications, and high school completion courses.
Amazon said in a statement today’s moves continue its commitment to providing access to the tools and resources small businesses need to build thriving teams, while helping drivers reach their career aspirations. These new benefits from leading providers and additional rate increases for DSPs to offer competitive pay to their drivers total a more than $450 million investment over the next year.
Amazon’s DSP program has been successful because of its long-term partnerships with DSP owners. These new programs from leading providers are a direct result of feedback from DSPs and drivers. Today, Amazon works with more than 3,500 DSPs around the world that employ more than 275,000 drivers, who safely deliver more than 10 million customer packages every day.
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