McDonald's Raises Pay for U.S. Restaurant Workers
May 13 2021 - 8:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Heather Haddon
McDonald's Corp. said it would raise pay for employees at
company-owned restaurants in the U.S., one of the latest companies
to bolster wages and benefits as they struggle to hire workers.
The burger giant said Thursday it would increase wages for more
than 36,500 hourly workers by an average of 10% over the next
several months. Nonmanagerial workers at the chain's roughly 660
company-owned restaurants in the U.S. would earn at least $11 to
$17 an hour at entry levels after the increases, McDonald's said.
Supervisors would earn an hourly minimum of $15 to $20.
Nonmanagerial employees at company-owned stores earlier this year
earned an average of nearly $12 an hour, McDonald's said, and
supervisors earned some $16 to $18 an hour.
McDonald's owns a fraction of its 13,900 U.S. restaurants,
around 95% of which are operated by franchisees. Owners have said
they are reviewing pay and benefits at their stores. The National
Owners Association, a group representing U.S. franchisees, said in
an email to its members on Sunday that strong sales should allow
operators to raise menu prices if they choose to compensate for
higher spending on pay and benefits.
"We need to do whatever it takes to staff our restaurants and
then charge for it," the association said.
A shortage of workers across the U.S. economy has prompted some
employers to boost pay and benefits as they hunt for workers.
McDonald's, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Applebee's, KFC and other
chains have said they want to hire tens of thousands of workers in
the coming months as they reopen dining rooms and seek to better
staff their restaurants.
Chipotle on Monday said it would raise wages at its 2,800
restaurants to an average of $15 an hour by the end of next month.
Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants Inc. said it paid $17 million
in bonuses to workers last month and boosted wages to at least $10
an hour for 20% of the chain's 135,000 hourly staff.
Unions and activists have for years urged chains including
McDonald's to boost wages. McDonald's and its restaurants are one
of the world's largest private employers. The median hourly wage
for a U.S. fast-food worker in mid-2020 stood at $11.47, Labor
Department data show.
McDonald's said Thursday it decided to raise pay at company
stores after looking at what other restaurants were paying and as
more states and the federal government consider mandating
minimum-wage increases. The company said it expects the average
wage at the restaurants it owns to reach $15 an hour by 2024.
McDonald's said it wants to hire 10,000 employees in the next three
months as it reopens more dining rooms.
Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2021 08:19 ET (12:19 GMT)
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