Costco will raise its starting wage to $16 an hour starting this week, according to CEO W. Craig Jelinek, reports NPR. The club retailer raised its starting pay $15 per hour in 2019.
During a Senate Budget Committee hearing on pay at large retail and fast-food employers, Jelinek said that more than half of its hourly workers in the U.S. are paid above $25 an hour.
“I want to note this isn’t altruism,” Jelinek said. “At Costco we know that paying employees good wages … makes sense for our business and constitutes a significant competitive advantage for us. It helps us in the long run by minimizing turnover and maximizing employee productivity.”
This testimony comes as Congress prepares to vote on legislation that will gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.
