Amazon employees who have been with the company for at least 90 days are able to use the benefit, and employees must continue working part-time or full-time at Amazon while taking classes. Workers at Whole Foods, which Amazon owns, are not eligible.
Amazon has not offered to cover bachelor’s degree programs for its workers in the past, but has an existing benefit for employees that covers tuition costs for two-year associate degrees and certifications at partner schools such as the University of Maryland’s online program and Miami Dade College.
“We’re spending a lot of money on signing and incentives,” said Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s chief financial officer, in July. “It’s a very competitive labor market out there. And certainly, the biggest contributor to inflationary pressures that we’re seeing in the business.”
Amazon offers internal retraining programs for roles such as software and IT engineers, data center technicians, and researchers and designers.