NEW YORK -- Amazon said Thursday that it will pay the full college tuition for hourly workers starting next year, as competition to hire and retain those workers gets fierce.

       Other companies, including Walmart and Target, have recently started to pay for college or boost their existing programs. The job market is tight, and employers have been offering all kinds of incentives and perks to snag hourly workers, including raising pay and offering bonuses.

       Amazon said more than 750,000 U.S. hourly workers are eligible, including those who pack and ship online orders at its warehouses. The program will launch in January.

       The online shopping giant said the program employees are eligible 90 days after they've started work. Amazon said it'll fund tuition, books and fees and hundreds of partnering schools, but didn’t name them.