COMP NEWS – Shake Shack has announced it will pour $10 million into its restaurant staff, with $9 million going directly to wage increases for them.

The funds will be dispersed over the next 12 months, with nearly $1 million going toward hiring bonuses and an additional amount toward leadership development programs for employees, as well as equity grants for managers.

 

The move comes after a fruitful quarter for the fast-casual chain, which in May revealed a Q1 2021 revenue of $155.3 million, up 8.5% from the same quarter in 2020, and a net income of $0.6 million, pivoting from a net loss the year before.

Shake Shack joins a long line of restaurants seeking to bolster its hiring and retention at a time where its peers struggling to complete for workers. The special bonuses and compensation increases are the first announced from Shake Shack since the pandemic, but they may not be the last it commits in order to stay afloat.

The company’s recent equity deal beefed its cash-on-hand to more than $400 million.

 

It also comes as the restaurant industry struggles to claw its way out of the pandemic recession. Despite sweeping rebounds for the U.S. labor economy, the sector still remains 1.3 million workers short of pre-COVID times, and it’s currently among the highest for employee-quitting.

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