The free Prime membership, however, is exclusive to front-line workers, the company told Fortune. Corporate employees will still need to shell out the full amount to buy their own subscriptions. However, all employees, both logistics and corporate, will continue to receive 10% off Amazon merchandise, up to a maximum discount of $100 per year.

Amazon.com Inc. is raising pay for fulfillment and transportation workers by $1.50 an hour starting this month, raising the base wage to more than $22 an hour, or $3,000 a year on average for full-time employees who work a 40-hour week.

The company will spend over $2.2 billion on the hikes that will take the base salaries of hourly workers to more than $22 an hour, and more than $29 an hour including benefits. Amazon's decision comes as one of the biggest employers in the U.