- Hourly Costco workers in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada are due to get a pay raise later this month.
- Pay for both roles will increase by $1 per hour, CEO Ron Bakris said in a memo obtained by BI.
- The raise follows several other pay increases Costco has given in recent years to keep wages competitive.
Costco has long been one of the retail industry’s highest paying employers, a reputation that’s set to continue with pay raises scheduled for hourly workers in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada later this month.
In a memo to employees on Monday obtained by Business Insider, CEO Ron Vakris said the company would raise hourly wages by $1 for service assistants, service clerks and meat cutters, who are at either end of the pay scale.
This would bring the starting wage for these jobs to $19.50 per hour, a 5.4 percent increase for minimum wage workers.
Vakris said the pay increase, which will take effect July 22, is part of the company’s “efforts to keep our hourly wages highly competitive within the industry.”
Costco’s average worker pay and benefits were $50,202 last year, higher than Walmart’s $27,136 and Target’s $25,993.
Costco said in the memo that the step in the pay scale, which is based on years of service, will increase by 50 cents.
The company did not respond to BI’s request for comment before publication, but a source told BI the raise will apply to nearly all hourly employees, with top-tier employees set to make $30.15 an hour.
The price increase follows several others in recent years, including a 50-cent hike in March.
The wholesale club implemented two wage increases in 2021, with CEO Craig Jelinek saying at the time that wage increases were “good business” that would lead to lower staff turnover.
You can read the memo sent by Costco’s CEO to employees below.
Increase in hourly wage
To: All employees in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada
By Ron VakrisAs part of our ongoing effort to ensure our hourly wages remain highly competitive within the industry, effective July 22, 2024, we will be adjusting the hourly wage scale for employees in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada as follows:
- Starting wages for service assistants, service clerks and meat cutters will increase by $1.00 per hour.
- Top-tier rates for service assistants, service clerks and meat cutters will increase by $1.00 per hour.
- Every other step on these hourly scales increases by $0.50 per hour.
If you have any questions, please contact your GM or payroll representative. Thank you for all you do for Costco and each other.
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