The cash bonuses were monthly. I used to work in those warehouses. They definitely helped. Amazon and Bezos could definitely afford to keep all those programs and still give those employees a raise they deserve. The working conditions there are terrible.

That's true for shares, but NPR had interviews with Amazon warehouse workers that indicated the cash bonuses are monthly. One of the interviewees indicated his bonuses would sometimes equal his salary during busy periods like the holidays.

I wonder what % of the employees got bonuses though. are 95% of the employees better off, and the highest performers taking home less?

It depends on whether your entire building exceeds productivity by a certain amount, which isn't guaranteed. Also, employees lose half or all of their bonus for the month using UPT, which puts them one flat tire or traffic jam away from potentially losing out even if they would otherwise get VCP that month.

When it works, it works, the problem is you can't predict it, and since you can't predict it, you can't depend on it.