Amazon to pay $4 million in lawsuit accusing company of stealing tips from drivers

Silicon Valley giant Amazon has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle a lawsuit in the US which accused it of subsidizing labour costs to cover part of employees' base wages by stealing tips its drivers received.

Brian L Schwalb, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, said that Amazon saved millions of dollars in operating costs and increased its profits by diverting the tips.

The lawsuit claimed the company misled consumers between 2016 and 2019 by claiming that the tips they paid would go directly to Amazon's Flex drivers, who deliver packages using their cars.