A new government report has intensified scrutiny of Amazon's labor practices after finding that enrollment in federal food assistance programs among the company's employees has nearly tripled since 2020, even as the e-commerce giant prepares to invest approximately $200 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure next year. The findings, commissioned following a request from Sen. Bernie Sanders and released by the Government Accountability Office, have renewed debate over whether some of America's largest employers are relying on taxpayer-funded assistance to support workers despite record corporate profits.
The report analyzed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid enrollment data across 11 states representing roughly one-fifth of the U.S. population. While the study does not provide nationwide totals for individual employers, it highlights the growing number of workers at major retailers and logistics companies receiving public benefits as lawmakers increasingly question wage levels across the industry.
According to the Government Accountability Office's findings, 12,346 Amazon employees were enrolled in SNAP, while 11,338 workers received Medicaid benefits. The report said those figures represent nearly a threefold increase compared with the agency's previous analysis in 2020. Across the broader U.S. workforce, an estimated 13.8 million working Americans are enrolled in Medicaid, up from 12 million in 2020, while 10.6 million workers receive SNAP assistance.
Among traditional employers included in the study, Walmart ranked ahead of Amazon in total enrollment. The report found 16,055 Walmart employees were covered by Medicaid, a 55% increase from the previous report, while 15,515 workers received SNAP benefits. Gig economy companies-including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub and Instacart-collectively surpassed Walmart as the largest category of employers whose workers relied on nutrition assistance, underscoring the growing role of contract and flexible labor in federal benefit programs.
The report prompted an immediate response from Sanders, who argued that taxpayers should not be subsidizing profitable corporations through public assistance programs. "American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidise the starvation wages of large corporations like Walmart and Amazon," the Vermont independent said. "No one who works for a company making billions in profits should be living in poverty."
Sanders expanded that criticism by calling on some of the country's wealthiest business owners to raise compensation. "It is time for the Walton family, worth $485 billion, and Mr Bezos, worth $257 billion, to get off of welfare and pay their workers a living wage with good benefits," Sanders stated. He also argued that the issue is especially significant because the companies benefited from substantial federal tax reductions in recent years.
Amazon rejected the implication that the report demonstrates inadequate wages. Company spokeswoman Rachael Lighty told CNN that eligibility for SNAP and Medicaid depends on total household income and family size rather than hourly pay alone, making comparisons between employers more complex. "Employers that offer part-time options for those who want them, like we do, are likely to have more people who are eligible," Lighty said.
The company also pointed to recent investments aimed at improving compensation for frontline employees. Amazon said it committed $1 billion in late 2025 to increase wages and reduce healthcare costs for fulfillment center and transportation workers, bringing the average base wage for those employees to more than $23 per hour.
The debate comes as Amazon enters one of the largest investment cycles in its history. During the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, Chief Executive Andy Jassy told investors Amazon expects to spend approximately $200 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, primarily to expand Amazon Web Services infrastructure and accelerate artificial intelligence development.
Amazon's financial performance has provided the resources for that expansion. According to the company, fiscal 2025 results included:
- $716.9 billion in annual revenue.
- $79.9 billion in operating income.
- Annual profit rising from $11.6 billion to $77.7 billion during the period examined in the government report.
- Approximately $200 billion in planned capital expenditures for 2026, representing about a 60% increase from 2025.
