WOULD AMAZON’S QUITTING BONUS WORK IN TRUCKING?
I bet most trucking companies every day hand the keys to one or more drivers who’d rather not work there. It’s a frightening thought, really. You’re entrusting them with a machine worth well over $100K, not to mention the value of whatever’s in the wagon. These drivers could single-handedly ruin a trucking company with bad or careless decision-making.
Amazon has been in the news over the past week or so because of a Pay to Quit program the company has implemented, which sees employees paid up to $5,000 to quit their job. You read that right. Amazon knows there are people who work for it that would rather be doing something else, so it gives them incentive to go find another job. The quitting bonus starts at $2,000 during their first year of employment and is ramped up to $5,000 over time.
It seems so counterintuitive for a people-starved industry like trucking, where if you can fog up a mirror, you can get a job somewhere, to consider such an unorthodox strategy. But I’ve seen companies offering $5,000 sign-on bonuses to new drivers. Is it that crazy to think you may be better off paying a bad and unhappy driver to move along than a new driver to come aboard? Of course the driver who joins can deliver loads and the driver who leaves cannot. But I wonder what a completely satisfied driver force would do to accident rates and insurance premiums? I don’t have the answer but it’s a fun discussion to have. You can read about Amazon’s Pay to Quit program here.
Have your say
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.
Works for me! Can I get the check by noon then I won’t have to bring my lunch that day? I’ve been in the industry for 40+ years now and I can’t wait to get out! I haven’t had a lot of jobs, and I’ve had some great jobs with exceptional companies here in Ontario. But the last few years have been shyte. I’m an older guy with experience all across N. America with a spotless abstract, and I speak English. I’m woth my weight in gold to this industry but they don’t get it. I visited TruckWorld the other day and ventured into the recruiting pavillion. The same suspects telling the same bs to any driver who would stop and listen. But I got enough pens to last me another 4 years. This business used to be fun. Now with the regs from the government and the low wages, poor conditions, junk equipment and lying employers just show me the door.