Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.
Under Armour is doing more than the minimum. The sports giant on Wednesday said it would raise its hourly rate for 8,000+ retail workers to $15.
Crunch time: In the face of what some are calling a US labor shortage, many companies are boosting pay to lure talent. Under Armour, for example, has 3,000+ jobs to fill.
- Chipotle, which is on a 20,000-person hiring spree, said it would hike wages to an average of $15/hour by the end of June.
- McDonald’s is bumping hourly rates at its US company-owned locations by 10% (on average).
Amazon is offering a starting rate of ~$17/hour and $1,000 signing bonuses to entice 75,000 new workers. That’s on top of increasing hourly wages between $0.50 and $3/hour for 500,000+ workers back in April.
Labor intensive: Wage hikes alone likely aren’t enough to correct the job market, Rebecca Givan, associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, told Retail Brew. “If [retailers and restaurants] offered predictable, consistent schedules and a living wage, and health and safety procedures that workers feel confident in...they could find plenty of workers.”—KM