The Intercept reports:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded Chipotle and warned investors that the stock will "underperform", complaining that the restaurant chain is paying its workers too much, and that cutting labor costs further will be difficult for the chain.
[...] Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold called Bank of America's analysis "flawed and inaccurate", adding that the restaurant chain hasn't cut employee hours but recently increased hours in conjunction with the addition of queso to the menu.
"That analysis is making estimates and conclusions about our management practices over a 12-year time frame from 2006 to 2017", Arnold told The Intercept. "Obviously, the scale of our business and labor wages have changed dramatically over that time frame. Drawing conclusions from 2006 and applying them as a directional change to our business over the past 12 months is simply flawed."
[...] "We continue to pay wages and offer benefits that are competitive and that reflect the priorities of our employees", Arnold said. "And with a commitment to developing and promoting people from within, we are providing significant opportunities for advancement."
The downgrade is a symptom of Wall Street's maniacal obsession with labor costs.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @03:14PM (1 child)
Technically you're right, but only if they're willing to fire the people making the higher wages, which would significantly harm employee morale and give bad publicity if on a large scale. Lowering wages of current employees effectively results in the same. The issue is compounded by the fact that well paid employees tend to stick around, so natural turnover will be slow to allow them to make changes if they only cut the pay of new employees.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 23 2017, @01:05AM
At Suma, the largest worker-owned co-op in UK, they democratically decided that every worker-owner gets the same (very nice) compensation package. [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]