Apple Inc. is raising salaries for workers in the US by 10 per cent or more as it faces a tight labor market and the spread of unionization efforts across its retail stores.
The Cupertino, California-based company is expanding its overall compensation budget this year, it said in a statement Wednesday. It will hike minimum hourly pay for its staff to at least $22, up 10 per cent on last year. The move follows a pay bump in February after inflation woes and complaints from some staffers about working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apple is now accelerating its annual performance-based pay increases for retail and corporate team members by three months, according to an email to employees. The company is contending with unionization efforts in several parts of the US, including Georgia, Maryland, New York and Kentucky. In a recent video message to employees, Apple’s retail chief warned “We have a relationship that is based on an open and collaborative and direct engagement,” and “I worry about what it would mean to put another organization in the middle of our relationship.”