Image Source: REUTERS
Tech giant Apple announced on Wednesday that it would be raising the wages for its retail and corporate staff this year. The decision came out even amid inflation and tight labor conditions in the United States.
Cost of living has since increased, primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and Apple’s move to increase pay will make up for most of their staff’s uncertainty in relation to the market in the country.
Other leading companies, like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have also moved to increase the compensation of their workers. According to the companies, the increase is to assure that they retain their good workers and to attract new skilled ones.
“This year, as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget,” Apple said in a statement. “Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative products and services for our customers,” it said further.
The starting wage for employees in the retail department will also increase, says Apple – from the current $20 an hour to $22. Apple notes that there are variations of starting pay among stores.
Apple faces several union drives in their retail stores, with the workers shouting for higher wages – and the company answered it to prevent further conflict. In Atlanta, Apple workers will decide in June whether they will connect with the Communication Workers of America to air their plight to the company’s higher-ups.
In April, the inflation rate in the US stands at 8.3%; data says it’s the fastest rate in more than 40 years. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is at 3.6%. The ruling economic conditions have driven many workers from highly exhaustive fields to call for better salaries or more flexible conditions.
To date, Apple is dominating sales with a growth of 34% in 2021, earning over $297 billion.
However, hiring has slowed down, according to analysts. This is because of the strong market conditions. Recently, tech giants like Snap, Nvidia, and Facebook have said that they will slow down hiring initiatives to lessen costs.
Opinions expressed by CEO Weekly contributors are their own.
