Amazon has announced that it will be raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour for all US employees.
The change takes effect November 1 and applies to full-time, part-time and temporary workers within the company.
Amazon says the $15 minimum wage will benefit more than 250,000 Amazon employees, plus 100,000 seasonal workers.
"We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO. "We're excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us."
The change also applies to Whole Foods and all other subsidiary employees.
Even more, Amazon said its public policy team will begin lobbying for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Amazon is among the largest employers in the United States, and it has added more American jobs in the past decade than any other company.