"Minimum wage hikes, and the inevitable job losses that result from them, are a consistent topic of conversation for us...here are just a couple of recent examples:
- Seattle Min Wage Hikes Crushing The Poor: 6,700 Jobs Lost, Annual Wages Down $1,500 - UofW Study
- Study Finds Higher Min. Wages Bring Crushing Job Losses For Female And Minority Workers
- Harvard 'Shock' Study: Each $1 Minimum Wage Hike Causes 4-10% Increase In Restaurant Failures
...In fact, for the latest example of the unintended consequences of higher minimum wages, one has to look no further than a pair of Tim Horton's franchises in Ontario, Canada.
Faced with a 21% hike in minimum wages starting January 1st, with hourly rates going to $14 from $11.60, owners of the two restaurants said they had no choice but to cut employee benefits and eliminate paid breaks to offset their higher costs.
Per the Financial Post:
Faced with a 21% hike in minimum wages starting January 1st, with hourly rates going to $14 from $11.60, owners of the two restaurants said they had no choice but to cut employee benefits and eliminate paid breaks to offset their higher costs.
Per the Financial Post:
Employees at the Tim Hortons locations owned by the children of the co-founders of the franchise say they have reduced employee benefits and cut back paid breaks to help offset Ontario’s $2.40 jump in hourly minimum wage....Employee breaks will also no longer be compensated, the letter dated December 2017 read. For example, those working nine-hour shifts will be paid for eight hours and 20 minutes, while those on three-hour blocks will be paid for two hours and 45 minutes.“We apologize for these changes,” the letter, widely circulated on social media, read. “Once the costs of the future are better known we may bring back some or all of the benefits we have had to remove.”
The alternative would be for the franchises to simply raise prices to offset their higher cost structure, which they did not, demonstrating how little confidence in pricing power businesses have despite the constant media cheerleading about the "coordinated global recovery."
Read on!
Read on!
