Report: Apple Giving Raises to Hourly and Salaried Workers

27 MAY 2022 - Good news this week for Apple employees. It looks like they are getting a raise. A piece from The Wall Street Journal says the company sent an email to employees on Wednesday letting them know about the pay bump. According to the Journal:

Starting pay for hourly workers in the U.S. will rise to $22 an hour, or higher based upon the market, a 45% increase from 2018. Starting salaries in the U.S. are also expected to increase.

Addressing the news, an Apple spokesperson told the paper:

Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers… This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.

Also, it’s all happening sooner than expected. The report says some workers, “including those hourly employees in its stores and AppleCare,” have been told that their reviews will be early this year, with pay hikes hitting as soon as July. Such things usually happen at the end of Apple’s fiscal year - so late September/early October, according to the Journal.

One doesn’t have to think too hard to guess at reasons for the earlier than expected increases. The Journal points out that Apple has faced a decent amount of contention from employees this year. That’s ranged from moves to unionize retail locations to corporate workers less than pleased with plans to head back to the office.