Jeff Bezos called for Amazon's competitors to raise their minimum wage. Here's how retail rivals like Walmart, Target, and Costco stack up on worker pay.

Kate TaylorApr 11, 2019, 20:35 IST

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos called for competitors to match the company's $15 minimum wage in his letter to shareholders.
Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in October.
Here's how entry-level pay at retail rivals such as Costco, Walmart, and Target compare.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is challenging his retail rivals to boost their minimum wage.

"Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you are!) to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage," Bezos wrote in Amazon's annual letter to shareholders on Thursday.

"Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us," he continued. "It's a kind of competition that will benefit everyone."

Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in October. And, while the federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour, many other retailers are similarly raising pay.

Here's how some of the biggest names in retail stack up as companies compete to win over workers.

See Jeff Bezos called for Amazon's competitors to raise their minimum wage. Here's how retail rivals like Walmart, Target, and Costco stack up on worker pay. >>

Minimum wage: $15 per hour

Costco has already matched Amazon's minimum wage. In March, the company raised its minimum wages from $14 and $14.50 up to $15 and $15.50.

It had been less than a year since Costco last raised its minimum wage, from $13 to $14. This change impacted around 130,000 employees.

Minimum wage: $15 per hour

"We strongly believe that this will benefit our business as we invest in our employees," Bezos wrote in his annual letter to shareholders on Thursday.

"But that is not what drove the decision," he continued. "We had always offered competitive wages. But we decided it was time to lead – to offer wages that went beyond competitive. We did it because it seemed like the right thing to do."

Minimum wage: $13 (starting in June)

Earlier in April, Target announced it is raising its minimum starting pay to $13 an hour, up from $12 an hour. The new minimum wage will take effect in June.

CEO Brian Cornell announced in March that the company was "committed" to raising its starting wage to $15 an hour by 2020.

Minimum wage: $11.87

Ikea raised its minimum wage across the US to $11.87 an hour in 2015.

Minimum wage: $11 per hour

In January 2018, Walmart announced plans to raise entry-level pay to $11 an hour.

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Jeff Bezos called for Amazon's competitors to raise their minimum wage. Here's how retail rivals like Walmart, Target, and Costco stack up on worker pay.