Costco Raises Pay for Hourly Employees
Costco Wholesale Corp. is raising pay for most of its hourly U.S. workers to more than $30 an hour, as reported by Bloomberg.
The company will raise the hourly wage for employees at the top of its pay scale over the next three years, CEO Ron Vachris wrote in a memo to staff this week that was viewed by Bloomberg News. In March, these workers’ hourly rate will rise by $1 per hour to $30.20, with additional $1 increases coming in each of the next two years.
Workers at the bottom of the scale will get raises of 50 cents to $20, according to the memo. The pay changes apply to employees at non-union locations.
The wage hike comes amid contract talks with unionized employees. Costco Teamsters nationwide voted last week to authorize a strike on Feb. 1 if its labor dispute over wages and benefits is not resolved. The Costco Teamsters National Master Agreement, covering more than 18,000 Costco workers, expires on Jan. 31. Costco Teamsters reportedly represents less than 10% of the company’s roughly 219,000 U.S. employees.
Meanwhile, fellow retailer Walmart also revealed its own pay bump last week. Walmart’s top-performing market managers can now make between $420,000 and $620,000 per year with full bonuses.
Costco currently operates approximately 900 warehouses, including 600-plus in the United States and Puerto Rico, 100-plus in Canada and 41 in Mexico. It also operates e-commerce sites in eight countries. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100. PG also named both companies to its Retailers of the Century list.
