Ikea raises minimum wage for US workers 2nd year in a row
Source: AP
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK (AP) — Ikea's U.S division is raising the minimum wage for the second year in a row as the Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture chain looks to improve its relations with workers and reduce worker turnover.
Starting Jan. 1, Ikea's average minimum hourly wage will increase to $11.87, which is $4.62 above the current federal wage and marks a $1.11 increase, or 10 percent, from this year's average minimum pay.
The increase will affect 32 percent of Ikea's 10,500 U.S. store workers and will raise the average hourly wage to $15.45. That's up from the current $14.19 per hour. The increase also covers workers in some distribution centers.
Ikea raised the minimum wage in June 2014 by an average of 17 percent, effective 2015. That marked the biggest increase in 10 years in the U.S. for the retailer. It also pegged the raise to the cost of living in each location, instead of what competitors are offering as most stores do, signaling a new approach to its pay structure.
FULL story at link.
FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2014 file photo, store employees clap balloons together as IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, opens the doors to its first Miami-Dade store to customers in Sweetwater, Fla. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, Ikea's U.S division is raising the minimum wage for the second year in a row as the Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture chain looks to improve its relations with workers and reduce worker turnover. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter, File)
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/011e2de3141540f2bb95e16326e9d186/ikea-raises-minimum-wage-us-workers-2nd-year-row
