Picture used for illustrative purpose.

Amazon announced plans Thursday to add 75,000 jobs in the United States and Canada as part of a further ramping up of the e-commerce giant’s massive warehouse and logistics network.

The tech giant, which already has more than 800,000 US employees, said it would offer “an average starting pay of over $17 per hour,” along with health and retirement benefits and bonuses of up to $1,000 and $100 extra for those vaccinated for COVID-19.

“We look forward to hiring 75,000 associates across our fulfillment and transportation network,” said Alicia Boler Davis, vice president of global customer fulfillment at Amazon.

The news comes after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said last month the company needs a better “vision” for its workers, despite having prevailed in a bruising battle over unionisation at one of its warehouses.

Bezos, who is giving up his job of chief executive but will remain chairman of Amazon, said his goal is to make the company “Earth’s best employer and Earth’s safest place to work.” Amazon’s announcement said it has already begun hiring at various sites including in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington state and Wisconsin.

Separately, Google has won a deal to provide cloud services to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has launched a slew of Starlink satellites to provide high-speed internet, it said on Thursday.

SpaceX will set up ground stations within Google’s data centers that connect to the Starlink satellites, enabling fast and secure internet services via Google Cloud, the search giant said.

This service is expected to be available in the second half of 2021 for enterprise customers, the company said.

The deal comes at a time when demand for cloud-computing services has soared, with players like Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc dominating the market. Cloud companies have also tapped into the telecoms sector, thanks

McDonald’s RAISING PAY: McDonald’s is raising pay at 650 company-owned stores in the US as part of its push to hire thousands of new workers in a tight labour market.

The fast-food giant is also encouraging its franchisees - which make up 95% of its restaurant base - to boost pay.

McDonald’s follows other chains including Chipotle, which said Monday that it will raise workers’ pay to an average of $15 per hour by the end of June. Darden Restaurants, the owner of Olive Garden and other chains, said it March that it will guarantee workers $12 per hour including tips by 2023.

Amazon, Costco and other big companies have all announced pay raises in recent weeks.

Wages and benefits for US workers have been rising quickly as vaccinations increase and employers try to meet growing demand at restaurants and other businesses. US workers’ total compensation rose 0.9% in the first three months of this year, the largest gain in more than 13 years, according to the labour Department.

McDonald’s, based in Chicago, said Thursday that its hourly wages will increase an average of 10% over the next few months to $13 per hour, rising to $15 per hour by 2024. Entry-level workers will make at least $11 per hour; shift managers will make at least $15 per hour.

Fight for $15 and a Union, a labour group which is trying to unionize fast food workers, said the increases aren’t enough and it will continue to demand a starting wage of $15 per hour for all McDonald’s workers.

“Clearly, McDonald’s understands that in order to hire and retain talented workers, something needs to change,” union organizer and McDonald’s employee and union organizer Doneshia Babbitt said in a statement. “Now, they’re raising pay for some of us and using fancy maths tricks to gloss over the fact that they’re selling most of us short.” Fight for $15 is planning strikes in 15 cities next Wednesday ahead of McDonald’s annual shareholders meeting.

However, the vast majority of McDonald’s nearly 14,000 US stores are owned by franchisees who set pay in their own restaurants.

McDonald’s said it didn’t have data on wages at franchised restaurants but said that it’s asking them to follow suit.

“We encourage all our owner/operators to make this same commitment to their restaurant teams in ways that make the most sense for their community, their people and their long-term growth,” McDonald’s US President Joe Erlinger wrote in a letter to employees.