Apple employees can to look forward to raises. The company sent an email to its workers informing them it’ll spend more on employee compensation this year. And starting pay for retail workers is going up 10%.
This is happening as Apple faces increasing competition for employees in a tight labor market, and its retail workers are starting to unionize.
Pay raises at Apple
With the unemployment rate near historic lows, there’s strong competition for workers. Apple has handed out hefty bonuses to hold onto top employees. And now it’s increasing the pay for hourly workers.
“Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers,” Apple said in a statement. “This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.”
The starting rate for U.S. hourly workers is going from $20 an hour to $22 an hour, according to the WSJ. That’s a 45% increase from 2018, according to CNBC.
Plus, starting salaries for employees are reportedly getting a bump up.
The union elephant in the room
Apple’s stated reasons for increasing hourly pay make no mention of its retail workers moving to form unions, but it has to be a factor.
The employees interested in unions want higher pay, and if Apple can provide that, it’ll weaken the unionizing efforts. And the company is actively working to weaken those efforts.
The pay increases will also help offset inflation, which is eating into workers’ paychecks.
