Sitting on bumper profits and cash as consumers remodel their homes during the pandemic, Home Depot (HD) is joining a growing list of big box retailers giving its workers a raise after a busy and challenging year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The home improvement retailer said Tuesday it will invest $1 billion in what it calls ‘incremental compensation’ annually for its workers. A Home Depot spokesperson declined to share specifics on how much the company’s average hourly wage will increase after the investment.
“It varies market by market. Our compensation, at all levels, is based on skills, responsibilities, performance and market rates,” the spokesperson told Yahoo Finance. According to Glassdoor, the average hourly wage for a Home Depot cashier is $11 an hour. A sales associate earns $12 an hour, per Glassdoor.
The spokesperson said the “majority” of Home Depot’s 400,000 total employees will receive a pay bump from the new investment.
Other big box chains — sitting on big profits as consumers have stocked up on food and cleaning products amidst the pandemic — have also opened their wallets.
In July, Target raised its starting wage for its store, distribution and headquarter employees to $15 an hour. The move impacted 275,000 employees who work at the company’s stores and distribution centers. Target raised its starting minimum wage to $13 an hour in June as part of a commitment unveiled in 2017 to reach $15 an hour by 2020.
Walmart in September lifted its minimum wage to $15 an hour from $11 an hour for some 165,000 workers.
The world’s largest retailer’s pay hike comes as the company calls for lawmakers to enact a new stimulus plan for those unemployed because of the pandemic.
“I think the lack of stimulus is showing up more so with those unemployed, small businesses and people that need help. I think it’s important that we all understand in some ways we are having a shared experience because we are in a pandemic together, but we are having a very different experience. If you have been let go and don’t have income, you really need help. The voice we have at Walmart is to say to Congress and the administration we need you to help those people who need help,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said recently at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit.
