Amazon takes cue from Uber, will pay consumers to deliver packages

SEATTLE — Watch out Uber, Amazon may just steal away your drivers.

The online giant is launching an Uber-like program, called Amazon Flex, which uses on-demand independent contractors to deliver Amazon packages. The service is currently available only in Seattle (and only to members of Amazon’s same-day delivery service Prime Now), but the company  expects to  roll it out  to other cities where Prime Now is offered, including Manhattan, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, and Chicago.

“There is a tremendous population of people who want to work in an on-demand fashion,” Dave Clark, Amazon senior VP of world-wide operations, told the Wall Street Journal. “This is another opportunity for people to work with the company.”

To qualify to deliver packages for Amazon, drivers must provide their own car, own an Android smartphone, and pass a background check. Amazon bills Flex as a way for workers to “be your own boss” by setting the hours they want to work.

“You can work as much or as little as you want,” according to the Amazon site.