Home Depot said Tuesday it’s investing $1 billion in wage increases for its U.S. and Canadian hourly workers.
The Atlanta-based home improvement chain said every hourly employee will get a raise starting this month. Starting pay will be at least $15 per hour in all markets.
Home Depot is one of many big retailers who have raised pay to attract workers in a strong U.S. job market, where unemployment is at its lowest level since 1969. Walmart announced in January that it would be raising its hourly wage to an average of $17.50, while Target invested $300 million in hourly wage increases last year.
The pay raises could also help Home Depot head off a fledgling campaign to unionize its stores, which it opposes. Workers at a Home Depot in Philadelphia filed to hold a union election last September, saying workers weren’t benefiting from Home Depot’s strong sales and stores were understaffed. Workers at the store voted to reject the union in November.
Home Depot employs 437,000 people in the U.S. and 34,000 in Canada. The vast majority are hourly employees, the company said. The company operates 2,000 stores in the U.S. and 182 stores in Canada.
“This investment will help us attract and retain the best talent into our pipeline,” Home Depot’s Chairman, President and CEO Ted Decker wrote in an email to employees. Decker noted that 90% of the chain’s store leadership started as hourly workers.
American businesses that rely on Chinese goods are reacting with muted relief after the U.S. and China agreed to pause their exorbitant tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days. Many companies delayed or canceled orders after President Donald Trump last month put a 145% tariff on items made in China. Importers still face relatively high tariffs, however, as well as uncertainty over what will happen in the coming weeks and months. The temporary truce was announced as retailers and their suppliers are looking to finalize their plans and orders for the holiday shopping season. They’re concerned a mad scramble to get goods onto ships will lead to bottlenecks and increased shipping costs.
Shopping expert Trae Bodge discusses how talks between the U.S. and China is good news for now, but uncertainty remains for back-to-school and the holidays.
Jake Traylor, White House reporter at Politico, joins Cheddar to discuss how Trump is aiming to lower drug prices and how it differs from Biden's approach.
Sheryl Palmer, CEO of Taylor Morrison, talks tariff uncertainty, being a female leader in a male dominated industry and what homebuyers need to know. Watch!
