Apple increases wages of employees, says decision is ‘essential’ even amid inflation

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The tech giant Apple announced on Wednesday that it would be raising the pay for its retail and corporate staff this year. The decision came out even amid inflation and difficult labor conditions in America, which has been affecting businesses across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine made many become uncertain about whether they will be able to meet the hikes in prices.  With the recent increase in the cost of living, Apple is preparing to give its employees a pay raise to alleviate their worries. 

In a similar move, companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft have raised the salaries of their workers in order to retain qualified staff while also trying to attract new talent.

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

The company says that starting wages for employees in the retail department will also increase, from $20 an hour to $22. Apple notes there’s variation among stores on what they offer as far as pay rates go — but the standard should be $22 an hour. 

Recently, the workers at Apple are demanding higher wages, and the company has answered them by preventing further conflict. In Atlanta, retail store employees will decide this June whether they want to work with the Communication Workers of America for an opportunity to speak up about their hardships within the company.

The inflation rate in the US is at 8.3%; data says it’s the fastest rate in 40 years. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate still sits at 3.6%. These economic conditions have caused many workers from highly exhaustive fields to seek better salaries so they can afford the cost of living. 

In 2021, Apple saw a 34% growth in its sales — earning $297 billion.

However, the market is pushing back on hiring, and tech giants are taking notice. 

Snap, Nvidia, and Facebook all said they will slow down their hiring initiatives to cut costs.