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from the FIRE-sector-doing-bad-math-again dept.
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: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday October 23 2017, @02:17AM
For what it's worth, in 1988 I "negotiated" a $7/hr starting rate of pay as part time stock help at a grocery store (normal starting pay was minimum wage, $3.35/hr at the time). Simple fact was: they needed people, I convinced them A) I could do the job, and B) I would not be doing it for $3.35/hr. Little tyrant of an assistant manager there was a PITA for everyone there, about 3 months after I started he came to my aisle one day and dropped the "well maybe you don't need this job" on me, which I threw back at him with "well maybe I don't." That little confrontation got him removed from managing me, I started getting all the hours I wanted, when I wanted them, and the biggest bonus of all: I never saw his weasel face in my aisle again.
Oh, cool side effect: lots of part time stock help kids had been there for 2-3 years and were making ~$4.50/hr with their accumulated nickle and dime raises over the years. When I walked on at $7, word got around about it on my first night (not from me), and within a week they all were bumped up to the $6+ range - after that, every single one of them had my back.
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