The Home Depot on Tuesday said it will spend an additional $1 billion to give its hourly employees a raise, as retailers and restaurants compete for workers, reports CNBC. The home improvement retailer announced the wage investment as it reported fourth-quarter earnings. It didn’t disclose the new average wage for employees, but said every market’s starting wage is at least $15 an hour. Hourly workers will see the increase, which went into effect on Feb. 6, this month in their paychecks. The increase will boost pay for all hourly workers in the U.S. and Canada. The Home Depot employs more than 400,000 employees, many of whom collect hourly wages.
Total Retail’s Take: Retailers continue to grapple with frontline employee turnover, understaffed stores, and competitors’ growing wages drawing employees away. Home Depot is responding by investing in wage increases, additional benefits, training and career development for its associates to the tune of $1 billion, according to a company press release.
“The most important investment we can make is in our people,” said Ted Decker, The Home Depot’s chair, president and CEO. “We believe this investment will position us favorably in the market, enabling us to attract and retain the level of talent needed to sustain the customer experience we strive to deliver.”
The Home Depot’s wage hike comes shortly after Walmart announced it would raise its minimum wage to $14 an hour for store employees. While many tech companies and banks are laying off thousands of workers, retailers are taking the opposite approach and investing in employees with hiring sprees and pay boosts. The current market may be a great time for retailers to recruit those recently laid-off technologists to join their organizations in the field and home office alike.
View Original Article
