Amazon to Hire 75,000 Workers Offering Over $17 per Hour
Exceeding Federal Minimum Wage
McDonald's to Pay Up to $20 per Hour
Plans to Hire 10,000 New Employees Within 3 Months
[Asia Economy reporters Yujin Cho and Jaehee Kwon] Facing the largest labor shortage in history, U.S. companies have been rolling out wage increase plans one after another. Amazon is offering new hires an hourly wage of $17 or more, exceeding the federal minimum wage of $15, while McDonald's plans to raise wages up to $20 per hour. Although there are plenty of jobs available, the lack of job seekers has forced companies to take these desperate measures.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 13th (local time), Amazon, which is recruiting new employees for its logistics warehouse sector, announced an hourly wage of $17 or more. The scale of this hiring is 75,000 people, which accounts for about 8% of the total workforce in the U.S.
In addition to wage increases, Amazon is also offering additional bonuses. These are one-time payments outside of regular wages, with plans to provide up to $1,000 to those vaccinated against COVID-19.
McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain and a frequent target in minimum wage increase debates, is also implementing wage hikes. McDonald's announced a minimum 10% wage increase for its 36,500 employees in the U.S. This wage increase is encouraged not only for company-operated stores but also for franchise stores, which account for over 95% of the approximately 13,000 locations nationwide.
As a result, McDonald's workers' hourly wages are expected to rise from $11 to $17. For shift workers, wages will increase from $15 to $20 per hour.
McDonald's plans to hire 10,000 new employees within the next three months as stores that had closed due to COVID-19 resume operations.
Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald's USA, wrote in a letter to employees, "Like other franchise operators, we are facing a challenging employment environment," adding, "To stay ahead in this competition, it means we must continuously renew our commitment to offering the industry's best employment package."
Chipotle, which employs about 20,000 workers in the U.S., has decided to raise the average hourly wage to $15 starting this week through the end of June. This is a $2 per hour increase from before, reflecting the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 recession and the resulting labor shortage.
Darden, which owns multiple restaurant chains including Olive Garden, has announced it guarantees a minimum hourly wage of $10 including tips. Darden has pledged to raise this minimum to $12 per hour by January 2023. Consequently, workers' incomes are expected to increase from an average of $17 to over $20 per hour.
Meanwhile, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 would increase wages for about 17 million workers, or 10% of the workforce, but would also result in approximately 1.4 million job losses due to reduced employment by companies.
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