Apple Increases Payments For Corporate and Retail Workers

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Economies in all countries are going through difficult times. But the big companies have the responsibility to help governments overcome such situations. For instance, they can retain their employees, pay them more, etc. Honestly, this is what Apple and other big names such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook are doing. Yesterday, Apple officially stated that the Cupertino-based company will increase payments for corporate and retail workers later this year. It will be a great help in this historically tight labor market situation in the U.S. (and not only). And due to such activities, employees will be able to better contend with increased inflation and cost of living.

As a reminder, just recently, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft modified their compensation structures. According to the new policy, they will increase payments for workers. This should help them to retain and attract talent.

“Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.”

As for numbers, the starting payments for retail workers will increase from $20 to $22 an hour. In certain regions in the US, the starting wage might be much higher.

Why Is Apple Increasing Payments For Corporate and Retail Workers Now?

However, we should note that Apple announced increasing payments for corporate and retail workers just weeks after an Apple store in Maryland joined stores in Georgia and New York to unionize. Thus, now, there are at least three Apple store employees asking for higher wages. Next month, the Apple workers from the mentioned stores will vote on whether to organize the Communication Workers of America.

Of course, Apple has tried to calm down the situation. But the messages in an internal video sound odd, “I worry about what it would mean to put another organization in the middle of our relationship,” said vice president of people and retail Deirdre O’Brien.

By the way, in April, the inflation rate in the US was 8.3%, the fastest rate in more than 40 years. At the same, the unemployment rate remains low at 3.6%. All these factors made workers look for better pay or more flexible conditions. This is especially true in high-demand fields like technology. So if Apple wants to keep its corporate and retail workers, it has to increase payments. Moreover, it shouldn’t be a big force on the company, if taking into consideration its growing sales of 34% in 2021.