Amazon now to pay the public up to £15p/h to deliver other people’s packages

In what seems like another cost cutting exercise by Amazon, they’re now offering ‘jobs’ to anyone with a car, Android phone and some spare time.

This on paper seems great for anyone in need of a few extra quid similar to the Uber method, where you can stop and start work almost as you please, but after speaking with many delivery drivers that work with or on behalf of Amazon many have said they’re already overworked and underpaid with some delivering up to 110 packages per day and working until 10pm.

Either way, £13p/h is still not bad for a flexible part-time job but by the time you’ve added fuel, insurance, tyre wear etc to your calculations you might find it slightly less rewarding.

The ad states:

Earn £13-£15/hr including tips*, delivering packages with Amazon. All you need is a vehicle, an Android phone, and some free time. This is a great opportunity to be your own boss: deliver when you want and make some extra cash.

• Flexible hours — Schedule ahead or pick up any available delivery block of time
• Great earnings — Make £13-£15/hr (including tips)
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have the right to work in the UK
• Have a car and a valid UK driving licence
• Have an Android phone
• Not be an Amazon employee
• Pass background check
• Maintain appropriate vehicle insurance coverage that permits making deliveries in the course of a business

*Earnings estimates are based on delivering a number of packages across an estimated length of time (referred to as a block). We aim to ensure that the number of packages you are assigned to deliver within your block is realistic, taking into account congestion and the primary requirement to drive safely. However, the actual time taken per delivery may vary (because it could, occasionally, take less time or a little more time than expected) so the earnings per hour may vary.

Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has the ultimate goal of delivering packages within 30 minutes of ordering, something Argos is also trying to do with their ‘Same Day Delivery’.

The ad appeared on Birmingham Craigslist but can also be found on Amazon Flex with other cities ‘coming soon’.

Short lived

This job isn’t one that will last either, with Tesla’s announcement today about the future of autonomous driving we will soon see cars, vans and lorries driving on their own picking up packages, people etc. In other words, if your jobs involves vehicles or transport soon you will be replaced by robots whether you like it or not.