Amazon has been expanding its Prime Now service for members of its $99 annual Prime loyalty program.
Advertisement
The service, which is presently live in Seattle, initially focuses on hiring couriers for Amazon’s one-hour delivery service Amazon Prime Now.
Amazon have their heads screwed on right though as not just any Tom, Dick, and Harry will be able to turn up with a vehicle and collect a boot full of packages, those interested will need their own cars, have valid drivers’ licenses, be over the age of 21, pass a background check, and own an Android smartphone.
Flex will pay its contractors $18-25 an hour, for up to 12 hours a day.
Part-time drivers can work two-, four-, or eight-hour shifts to supplement their income – or with the eight-hour shifts, it could very well be a full-time job. In particular, Uber and similar services face thorny questions over how their de facto contractors should be classified and compensated. Amazon Flex drivers can work as much as they want, as Amazon needs delivery drivers seven days a week.
Advertisement
Although the program debuted in Amazon’s backyard, Fortune reports that the service will soon expand to other areas with Prime Now availability, including Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, New York and Portland. One term becoming more commonly used to to refer to firms such as TaskRabbit, AirBnB and Amazon Flex is the “gig economy,” as it highlights the short-term, tenuous nature of the employment.
