Ikea is raising the minimum wage of its workers to $10.76 nationally, up 17 percent from its $9.17 per hour starting wage, according to multiple news reports.
“The happier the co-worker, the happier the customer and the better the overall shopping experience,” said Ikea’s acting U.S. president, Rob Olson, according to The LA Times. “We wanted to be less concerned about the competition and more concerned about offering our co-workers a better everyday life.”
The pay hike will go into effect January 1, 2015. Ikea’s rate of $10.76 per hour is $3.51 above the federal minimum wage, which President Obama has been pushing to increase to $10.10 per hour.
About half of Ikea’s 13,651 American employees, both full- and part-time, will get a raise when the new rate goes into effect next year.
Ikea’s move follows suit with Gap, which said in February that it would raise the minimum wage of workers up to $9 an hour this year and up to $10 and hour in 2015. Fast food workers across the country have also been pushing for a pay bump to $15 an hour.
• Jennifer Pompi can be reached at jpompi@washingtontimes.com.
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