Home Depot said Tuesday that it is investing $1 billion to raise wages for hourly workers in the United States and Canada.
The Atlanta home improvement chain said every hourly employee will get a raise starting this month. Starting wages will be at least $15 per hour in all markets.
Home Depot is one of many large retailers that have raised wages to attract workers in a Strong US job marketwhere unemployment is at its lowest level since 1969. In January, Walmart announced that it would raise hourly wages to an average of $17.50, while Target invested $300 million. on an hourly wage increase last year.
A raise in wages could also help Home Depot pass fledgling campaign to unite its store, which it opposes. Workers at Home Depot in Philadelphia filed a petition to hold a union election last September, saying workers did not benefit from Home Depot’s. strong sales and stores are understaffed. Workers at the store voted to reject the union in November.
Home Depot employs 437,000 people in the US and 34,000 in Canada. The vast majority are hourly employees, the company said. The company operates 2,000 stores in the US and 182 stores in Canada.
“This investment will help us attract and retain the best talent into our pipeline,” Home Depot President, President and CEO Ted Decker wrote in an email to staff. Decker notes that 90% of the chain’s store leaders started out as hourly people.
