Home improvement store Lowe’s will be issuing $55 million in bonuses to its hourly employees this September.
Executive Vice President of Stores Joe McFarland said the incremental bonus comes “during this period of high inflation” in a phone call to discuss the company’s second-quarter sales and earnings Wednesday. Lowe’s employs more than 300,000 people, according to its website.
“These associates have the most important jobs in our company, and we deeply appreciate everything they do to serve our customers to deliver a best-in-class experience,” CEO Marvin R. Ellison said.
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“Also for a designated time frame, we are providing our associates with an additional 10% discount on everyday household and cleaning items. Associates can now purchase these products at a 20% discount, which we hope will ease the burden of inflation impacting many of these items. We will continue to look for meaningful ways to improve our associates’ work-life balance, while providing them with the tools to build a career at Lowe’s,” McFarland further announced.
Inflation currently sits at 8.5%, with the majority of the increases attributed to food and shelter costs. Food prices alone jumped 1.2% compared to June and 14.4% compared to the year prior. The cost of finished food products jumped 16% in July compared to the year prior, the highest recorded jump since 1974.
Meanwhile, Target’s profits were down almost 90% in the second quarter. Net earnings were just $183 million, according to the store. At the same time last year, the chain reported net earnings of $1.8 billion. However, sales still increased by 2.6%.
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Recently, President Joe Biden touted inflation growing 0% in the month of July since June and also signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law.