SHAREHOLDERPROPOSALS absent for long periods. In 2021, less than 0.4% of employees were separated from Amazon due to their inability to perform their jobs. Also in 2021, 83% of coaching was positive and was provided to employees who were meeting or exceeding expectations. • Werelyonproactivedata(inspections, assessments, and audits) to gauge whether we are focusing on the right risk controls, applying them correctly, and whether the controls are producing desired results. Thousands of safety inspections occur each day across our network. During these daily inspections, senior leaders from all the facility’s teams spend time ontheproductionfloor to evaluate the work environment, talk to associates about areas for improvement, and move learnings into immediate actions. • Werecruit experts in occupational health, safety, industrial hygiene, transportation, public health, technology, data analytics, engineering, and operations to design and synthesize innovative safety solutions. • Wehaveincurredmorethan$15billioninCOVID-19-relatedcoststohelpkeepouremployeessafeanddeliverforour customers, and also committed an additional over $300 million to non-COVID-19-related safety projects in 2021. • In 2021, we received the prestigious Green Cross for Safety Innovation Award from the National Safety Council for our innovative Collision Avoidance Technology, which when mounted on fork trucks, enables fork trucks to sense the distance betweenvehicles and people and structures, so the vehicles can slow down or stop to avoid collisions. At the sites wherethis technology has already been deployed, we reduced our fork truck-related recordable incidents by 95% in 2020. Wehaverolled this out at 10 of our sites and are finalizing plans for global implementation. • Bycombiningthesciencebehindhumanbehaviorwithengineeringexpertise, we are producing advanced wearable technology to improve safety in operations. To this end, we invested approximately $10 million into developing special safety vests for employees who work alongside, and maintain, our robotic pods. As another example, we are piloting wearable technology that uses real-time sensory feedback to alert the user of weak body postures and facilitate change inpotentiallydetrimentalhabits.Thepilotwilldeterminetheimpactwearabletechnologiescanhaveonimprovingassociate posture and reducing MSD injury risks. OurBoardIsIntently Focused on Our Employees’ Well-Being and Success Ourcommitmenttosupportouremployeesisdemonstratedbyourcompetitivecompensationandemployeebenefits.We are proud to offer competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, and our high wages have had a positive impact on other 68 wagesinlocal labor markets where Amazon operates and have helped boost local economies across the country. In the United States, the roles in fulfillment and transportation offer an average starting wage of more than $18 an hour—and up to $22.50 per hour in some locations.69 Additionally, we provide numerous benefits to our employees, including comprehensive medical benefits, a 401(k) plan with aCompanymatch,andupto20weeksofparentalleave(birthparentsareeligibleforupto20weeksofleaveandpartnersup to six). We also know that the American workforce is changing—there is a greater need for technical skills in the workplace than ever before and a huge opportunity for people with the right skills to move into better paying jobs. Every employee at AmazonalsohasaccesstoninedifferentCompany-fundedupskillingprogramsaspartofAmazon’s$1.2billionUpskilling2025 pledge.70 Programs include Career Choice, an education benefit which fully funds tuition for employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere, including Bachelor’s degrees, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. We offer graduate-school- leveltrainingforouremployeesthroughMachineLearningUniversity,aprogramdesignedtogivecurrentAmazonemployees the chance to develop expertise in machine learning, growing critical skills in an area of rapidly expanding professional opportunities within Amazon. We are also proud to offer our employees the opportunity to participate in our Mechatronics andRoboticsApprenticeshipProgram.Thisprogram,whichisregisteredwiththeU.S.DepartmentofLabor,providesemployees the opportunity to learn skills and technical knowledge needed to fulfill a technical maintenance role within our facilities. Thosewhocompletethefirstphaseofthisprogramseeanincreaseintheirwagesofuptoapproximately40%,andthose whocompletethesecondphaseseetheiraveragewageincreasebyuptoanadditional48%. Moreover, as part of WorkingWell, in partnership with Crossover Health, we have opened numerous Neighborhood Health Centers for employees and their families to access quality, convenient, and affordable healthcare whenever, and wherever, they need it. We also offer U.S. employees and their families access to telehealth and on-demand healthcare services 68 Seehttps://www.aboutamazon.com/news/job-creation-and-investment/study-shows-amazons-wage-increase-to-15-an-hour-also-upped-pay-for-non- amazon-workers. 69 Seehttps://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-announces-plans-hire-125000-employees-hundreds-cities-and. 70 Seehttps://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/upskilling-commitments. 2022ProxyStatement 69