Amazon will raise hourly pay for eligible U.S. core operations employees by $1 starting Sept. 27, lifting the minimum wage for full-time roles to $20 and average hourly pay to nearly $24. Including benefits, total compensation exceeds $32 an hour. The increase is part of a package valued at more than $1.5 billion and covers inbound, picking, packing, sorting and shipping workers. Amazon will also introduce 10% uncapped discounts on eligible online groceries and essentials and 20% discounts at Whole Foods stores starting Oct. 1, while a credit-union benefit without overdraft or monthly maintenance fees will be rolled out later this year and more broadly in 2027. The timing coincides with Amazon's Oct. 6-7 Prime member shopping event and the seasonal hiring surge for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas. The company hired plans for 250,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers in both 2024 and 2025. The compensation move comes alongside a reported internal plan, Project Mercury, to expand Amazon's same-day fulfillment network from roughly 85 facilities to more than 1,000 by 2031. The facilities would place about 90,000 fast-moving products within 10 miles of 80% of U.S. Prime members. Bank of America analyst Justin Post estimated the initiative would require $6.8 billion over three years, turn cash-flow positive by 2030 and generate $7.1 billion in economic value over 10 years. Amazon is seeking to narrow Walmart's delivery advantage: Walmart has roughly 5,000 U.S. stores, reaches 90% of the U.S. population within 10 miles of fast delivery and delivers 70% of e-commerce orders the same day. The strategy also intersects with Amazon's investments in robotics, drones, fresh grocery delivery and seller logistics. At the same time, Amazon has announced about 30,000 corporate job cuts across October 2025 and January 2026, raising the question of whether productivity gains and retention can offset higher warehouse wages.