COMP NEWS – The world’s most valuable company is slashing pay raises this year after slowing demand for iPhones caused earnings to take a dip in recent quarters.

Apple is cutting annual pay raises this year for its retail staffers as the company has seen its earnings sag in recent quarters due to a drop in demand for its iPhones, according to a report.

The tech giant headed by CEO Tim Cook, which is rolling out its new iPhone 15 on Friday, is reportedly raising pay by around 4% — a far cry from the 8% to 10% wage bumps that Apple handed out last year during the grip of record levels of inflation.

Apple Store employees are now drawing a salary of between $22 and $30 per hour while workers at AppleCare, the tech support division, earn slightly more.

Employees for the Cupertino, Calif.-based juggernaut have recently begun the process of having their performance reviewed by their bosses, according to Bloomberg News.

The performance reviews are scheduled to run through October, the report stated.

Though future pay raises are being decreased, Apple did raise employee salaries along with minimum wage last year.

Last year, Apple raised employee salaries beyond the typical pre-pandemic range of between 2% and 5% while also raising minimum wage to $22 from its previous level of $20.

The company was eager to retain employees at a time of acute labor shortages while also seeking to head off a burgeoning unionization drive that has impacted other retailers such as Amazon and Starbucks.

But this year’s relatively modest wage increases come during a time when inflation appears to be on the verge of retreating while organized labor has seen its unionizing momentum slow down.

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