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.

Amazon will spend more than $2.2 billion on the pay hikes, which will be more than $29 an hour including benefits.

Amazon.com is raising the pay of its fulfillment and transportation staff in the United States by at least $1.50 an hour and handing out free Prime memberships as benefits, it said on Wednesday.