Image source: McDonald's Corp
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is raising pay at 650 company-owned restaurants across the US as part of its effort to hire thousands of new employees.
Amid a nationwide labor shortage within the restaurant and hospitality industry, the Chicago-based fast-food giant announced Thursday it will increase hourly wages by 10% over the next few months for more than 36,500 workers.
“These increases, which have already begun, will be rolled out over the next several months and include shifting the entry level range for crew to at least $11 – $17 an hour, and the starting range for shift managers to at least $15 – $20 an hour based on restaurant location,” the company said in a press release.
According to McDonald’s, the average minimum wage should reach $15 by 2024, with some restaurants already hitting that goal.
As 95% of McDonald’s nearly 14,000 US locations are owned by franchisees who determine employee pay in their restaurants, the chain is encouraging owners to follow the company’s lead and boost wages.
The US National Franchisee Leadership Alliance – which negotiates with McDonald’s on behalf of restaurant operators – expressed support for the wage hikes and encourages franchisees to offer competitive salaries, according to The Associated Press.
Along with the pay increases, the company plans to hire 10,000 new employees over the next three months as the summer approaches and pandemic-related dining room restrictions ease, The New York Times reported.
“Our first value is taking care of our people, and today we are rewarding our hardworking employees in McDonald-owned restaurants for serving our communities,” Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, said in a statement Thursday. “These actions further our commitment to offering one of the leading pay and benefits packages in the industry.”
In recent weeks, several other big companies, including Amazon.com Inc and Costco Wholesale Corporation, have announced pay raises. Restaurant chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and other eateries, have also committed to increasing pay, The Associated Press noted.
The flurry of increases come as activists and lawmakers push for a $15 federal minimum wage to be implemented.
Shortly after McDonald’s announcement Thursday, Fight for $15, a labor group seeking to unionize fast-food workers, said the increases are not enough.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Fight for $15 said, “Clearly, McDonald’s understands that in order to hire and retain talented workers, something needs to change. Now, they’re raising pay for some of us and using fancy math tricks to gloss over the fact that they’re selling most of us short.”
The group is planning strikes in 15 cities next Wednesday prior to McDonald’s annual shareholders meeting.
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Source: Equities News
