NEW YORK, N.Y. — Macy’s announced Tuesday that it’s raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour and it’s launching a tuition benefit program.
The retailer with more than 100,000 employees says it will begin providing a debt-free education benefit program to its workers in February, investing about $35 million over the next four years.
The program will be available for all U.S.-based, regular, salaried and hourly workers, according to the company. It will cover 100% of tuition, books and fees for a variety of options, including courses for high school completion, college prep, English language learning, associate and bachelor’s degrees, bootcamps, and professional certificates within Macy’s network.
Macy’s says it has partnered with Guild Education to build the program.
The retailer is aiming to phase in its $15 per hour minimum wage nationally by May.
Additionally, the retailer says its corporate and hourly workers will receive one more flexible paid holiday to support employees' well-being and provide further flexibility to take a day off on a holiday that is most important to them.
The company claims it’s making these investments to attract and retain talent as strives to grow as a digitally-led omnichannel retailer.
“As a company, we’re driven by our mission to enable our colleagues’ success and be the preferred employer everywhere we do business, with competitive pay and benefits rooted in principles of equity,” said Danielle Kirgan, chief transformation and human resources officer at Macy's, Inc. “This program removes a major barrier to accessing education and will help our colleagues to further develop their skills and grow their careers and earning potential.”