Costco has raised its minimum wage.
During its quarterly earnings call on Thursday, CFO Richard Galanti announced to investors that the company had raised its minimum wages from $14 and $14.50 up to $15 and $15.50. These changes went into effect on March 4.
"In addition, we're also increasing wages for supervisors and introduced paid bonding leave for all hourly employees," he said.
A spokesperson for Costco declined to comment on how many jobs would be impacted by these changes.
The announcement comes as the retail sector faces an increasingly tight labor market, where many retailers have resorted to offering better wages and perks in an effort to attract talent. Earlier this month, Target CEO Brian Cornell announced that the company plans to raise its starting wage to $15 an hour by 2020.
Amazon also announced it would be raising its minimum wage to $15 in October. This went into effect in November.
It has been less than a year since Costco last raised its minimum wage, from $13 to $14. This change impacted around 130,000 employees.
Employees are celebrating the news of a pay boost online:
—🌙👽☁️ (@omingggg) March 3, 2019
—Alyssa Lopez (@lysssa_33) February 24, 2019
Costco's work environment
Costco was included in Glassdoor's best places to work list in 2017, and the company currently has a four out of five-star rating on the company review site.
In April, Business Insider spoke with several Costco employees to ask their opinions about working in the store.
The majority said that compensation was one of the most attractive parts of working there. Wages, benefits, and job security came up in responses from 21 employees, according to Business Insider's Áine Cain.
"The best part is all the perks — guaranteed hours, benefits, time and a half on Sundays, free turkeys at Thanksgiving, four free memberships, a livable wage," an employee with six years of experience told Business Insider.
