Apple Retail Store Employees To Receive 25% Wage Increases

Employees working at Apple’s various retail locations are about to get a nice pay raise equal to approximately 25% of their overall wages.

Apple employees were told of the July wage increases in face-to-face meetings with store managers. Apparently managers have spent the last two weeks letting those employees know they were in for a raise.

The wage increases came at the hands of John Browett, Apple’s new retail chief.

While employees were very happy to receive pay raises they have also viewed them as well overdue. Apple is considered a “high-end retail” establishment and generally employees at those locations receive better pay.

The raises came about from an “accelerated performance review period” ordered by John Browett. During the review period the number one complaint for employees was pay. Among the most frustrated employees were the company’s Genius tech support and education teams.

Increasing wages was becoming more important as Microsoft retail locations began poaching Apple employees with better wages, promotions and even signing bonuses.

In one case 11 Apple Retail store employees walked 100 feet away to a Microsoft retail store where they began working for Apple’s main PC competitor. In one case Microsoft reportedly offered a manager a signing bonus if they would leave their Apple store without giving the customary 2-week notice.

Given the fact that Apple employees nearly 36,000 full-time staffers at more than 350 retail locations the 25% raises could mean a nice little boost to local economies. The average Apple Store employee currently earns $9 to $15 per hour at the sales level and up to $30 per hour at the “Genius” tech level.