Apple is raising salaries for its corporate and retail employees.

The tech giant is responding to a tight labor market and spreading union organizing efforts at its retail stores by raising wages for its hourly workers in the United States by at least 10%.

Apple’s move comes after rivals such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft recently changed their salary structures to pay employees a higher salary in a bid to both retain existing talent and recruit new ones.

Apple’s salary increase

Apple has announced that it will raise salaries for employees working in businesses and retail later this year. This development takes place in the context of a historically competitive labor market in the United States, accompanied by a general increase in the cost of living and wage pressures for workers.

As a result, Apple will raise the starting pay for its retail employees from $20 per hour to $22 per hour.

According to CNBCan Apple representative said, “Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world allows us to deliver the best, most innovative products and services to our customers.

The company will also increase the overall compensation budget this year. The move comes after a salary increase in February, prompted by inflationary pressures as well as complaints from some employees about working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While unemployment is still at a low of 3.6%, inflation hit 8.3% in April, marking the fastest rate in more than 40 years. This confluence of factors has prompted many workers, especially those employed in high-demand fields such as technology, to seek better pay or more flexible terms at other companies.

According to its email to employees, Apple has decided to increase the annual performance-based salary increases it provides for members of its retail and corporate team by three months.

Another factor that led Apple to increase wages is the expansion of employee union campaigns across the country demanding higher wages.

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Apple’s work from home

Apple is also feeling the labor market crunch, as they recently received a massive backlash against their own employees as they shift away from working from home and towards a hybrid work pilot.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the benefits of working together in person cannot be replicated. Company executives believe nothing beats the serendipity that comes from meeting colleagues rather than just communicating virtually.

Employees, on the other hand, seem to disagree with the newly implemented policies, saying they do not promote any form of flexibility for employees.

As previously reported here in iTech Post, Apple’s new office work rules prohibit employees from working remotely more than two days a week. With that, a group of Apple employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the new work rules in the office in a letter they sent to the company’s executive members.

The negative reactions and complaints they received from their employees were taken seriously.

Yet, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has decided to listen to its employees and delay their return to work…for now.

Related article: Apple to increase wages by 2 to 10% for retail employees