New York (CNN Business) CVS will raise its minimum wage for hourly workers from $11 to $15 by next summer, becoming the latest large US chain to pledge a $15 starting rate as companies compete for workers in a tight labor market.
The pharmacy giant, which has nearly 300,000 employees, said Wednesday that it will begin increasing wages for hourly workers this month and hit the $15 an hour mark across the company next July. CVS will also increase starting rates for positions such as pharmacy technicians and call center representatives above $15. Around 65% of CVS's hourly employees already make more than $15 an hour, the company said.
Many retailers, restaurants and other service sector employers are struggling to hire and have raised pay, offered signing bonuses and expanded their benefits to draw in workers.
"Attracting and retaining top talent across our businesses is critical as we continue to redefine what it means to meet people's health needs," CVS CEO Karen Lynch said Wednesday.
The company also said it recently eliminated its high school diploma or GED requirement for most entry-level jobs and plans to eliminate the GPA requirement for university recruitment to expand its labor pool.
DelightfulAbsurdity on August 4th, 2021 at 21:57 UTC »
That’s wild that when a CVS is in a Target, the entry level target employees were making more than the entry level pharmacy techs.
Complete_Entry on August 4th, 2021 at 21:31 UTC »
Any time I go on their sub I get sad. They all hate life.
I watch new kids get worn down at my local.
They regularly leave the registers completely unattended, because it's not a joke, they've got ONE PERSON working.
graveRobbins on August 4th, 2021 at 19:50 UTC »
Now that they are down to 1 employee per store, they feel bold enough to take action