McDonald’s announces plan to raise salaries to $10/hr for 90,000 workers

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) announced an enhanced benefit packages for its employees on Wednesday, which will include a wage hike to roughly $10 an hour for approximately 90,000 workers nationwide, the company said in a statement.
On July 1, starting wages at McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. will be one dollar over the locally-mandated minimum wage, the company said. By the end of 2016, McDonald’s projects that the average hourly wage rate for all employees at company-owned restaurants will be over $10. In addition, an employee with one year of service who works an average of 20 hours per week will be eligible to accrue approximately 20 hours of paid time off a year starting July 1.
While the enhanced benefits apply to McDonald’s company-owned restaurants, the company said its franchise-operated restaurants reserve the right to make their own decisions on wages and benefits. There are more than 3,100 franchise-run McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S.
‘We’ve been working on a comprehensive benefits package for our employees – the people who bring our brand to life for customers every day in our U.S. restaurants,’ McDonald’s President and CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement. ‘We’ve listened to our employees and learned that – in addition to increased wages – paid personal leave and financial assistance for completing their education would make a real difference in their careers and lives.’