The Whole Foods wage increase did draw some criticism
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A starting wage of $15 an hour is pretty good for a job that could be as simple as bagging groceries, but the pay hike actually disgruntled some veteran Whole Foods employees. When Whole Foods enacted the wage increase, some Whole Foods workers who had been promoted as many as five times were suddenly making just a buck more than new hires.
Whole Foods employees also took issue with the chain reportedly cutting their hours not long after the new wage increase took effect. “My hours went from 30 to 20 a week,” an Illinois employee told The Guardian. Another employee in California said, “Just about every person on our team has complained about their hours being cut.” For some Whole Foods employees, this sort of cutback in hours could mean having to look for a second job.
Here’s How Much Whole Foods Workers Really Make
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By Joel Stice/Updated: May 2, 2022 5:25 am EST
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, as of 2018, the average wage of a cashier at a food and beverage store is $11.43. Land a job a Whole Foods, though, and you’ll be making almost 4 more dollars an hour. In 2018, the company bumped up its minimum wage to $15 an hour (via Eater). That’s more than what cashiers at both Aldi and Trader Joe’s make, though TJ’s crew members overall do average around $16 an hour.
What’s especially interesting about Whole Foods is that the company has a transparency policy with its employees’ paychecks. From new hires to top-level executives, the pay is out in the open (via CBS). Whole Foods CEO John Mackey says its the company’s way of motivating workers to work harder.
One employee on Reddit said that they used this to their advantage to get a raise several times and “loved it.”
The Whole Foods wage increase did draw some criticism
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
A starting wage of $15 an hour is pretty good for a job that could be as simple as bagging groceries, but the pay hike actually disgruntled some veteran Whole Foods employees. When Whole Foods enacted the wage increase, some Whole Foods workers who had been promoted as many as five times were suddenly making just a buck more than new hires.
Whole Foods employees also took issue with the chain reportedly cutting their hours not long after the new wage increase took effect. “My hours went from 30 to 20 a week,” an Illinois employee told The Guardian. Another employee in California said, “Just about every person on our team has complained about their hours being cut.” For some Whole Foods employees, this sort of cutback in hours could mean having to look for a second job.
Whole Foods employees also took issue with the chain reportedly cutting their hours not long after the new wage increase took effect. “My hours went from 30 to 20 a week,” an Illinois employee told The Guardian. Another employee in California said, “Just about every person on our team has complained about their hours being cut.”
For some Whole Foods employees, this sort of cutback in hours could mean having to look for a second job.
Whole Foods has overall high marks with employees
Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images
Yes, some veteran Whole Foods employees may view the $15 minimum wage increase as a double-edged sword, but the grocery chain still pays more than Kroger, Aldi, and most other grocery stores. According to Indeed, if an employee works their way up to department manager, they could also expect to make an average of around $21.06 per hour.
