Apple worker pay hiked to cope with tighter labor market

Apple is bumping up the pay of workers in the face of a tightening tightening labor market and complaints from staffers about working conditions.

An image of iPhone smartphones is displayed in an Apple Store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. (REUTERS)

Apple Inc. is bumping the pay of many U.S. retail employees in the face of a tightening tightening labor market, inflation woes and complaints from some staffers about working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The iPhone maker announced the pay increases this week during store briefings and individual meetings with employees, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The increases are catered at least in part to employees who have worked at the company prior to the pandemic's start in 2020 and are designed to better align veteran staff with more recent hires.

The raises, which have ranged from 2% to 10% depending on store location and role, are going to salespeople, Genius Bar technical support staff and some senior hourly workers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The increases don't apply to all employees, and not all stores have been notified of the changes yet.

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment on the raises, which are set to take effect this month. The increases are separate from the company's normal annual raises, which typically take place in October to coincide with the end of its fiscal year.

The move is Apple's latest attempt to placate its retail staff during a challenging year. Already, the company is adding a range of benefits for part-time and full-time employees. Apple plans to offer paid vacation time for part-time employees for the first time in April, as well as more sick days and new child- and elder-care benefits, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.

Businesses across the U.S. have struggled to find workers as the economy rebounds from the pandemic. Inflation has added more pressure. The government's consumer price index rose 7.5% in January, the fastest annual pace since 1982. In Apple's case, some retail employees have complained about the world's most valuable company -- with a cash hoard of more than $200 billion -- being slow to boost its compensation.

With the new raises, one salesperson saw compensation rise by about $2 to $25 an hour. Another worker who handles repairs saw an increase of about $3 to $24 per hour.

Though it's rare for Apple to give raises across its retail chain, the company handed out $1,000 one-time bonuses last September to store employees hired before March 31, 2021. It also gave $500 bonuses to workers hired after that date. The company has tens of thousands of retail employees across the globe and over 500 locations.

Corporate employees have gotten their own perks. At the end of last year, the company paid as much as $180,000 in stock-based bonuses to key engineers to prevent defections to Meta Platforms Inc. and other Silicon Valley rivals.