The Chain Gang

Domino’s CEO Freely Admits Employees Are Underpaid, Doesn’t Announce a Raise [Updated]

“We’ve got to respond to that.” Photo: Mark Bialek/ZumaPress

Just days after McDonald’s opened a PR can of worms by announcing a tiny raise for only some of its employees, Domino’s CEO Patrick Doyle has said some choice words of his own about his chain’s wages — which average less than $8 an hour.

In a CNBC Squawk Box appearance yesterday, Doyle told the hosts that Domino’s needs to raise its base pay if it wants the “right people” to work for there. “We’ve gotta pay more to get people right now,” he explained, adding the recent pay raises are actually great news because they show economic progress. Yet, in the end, he didn’t actually commit to giving more money to his employees — pressed by a host, he would only respond, “We’ve gotta do what the market demands to get the right people for our business.” That’s exactly the kind of specific, respectful answer employees surely want.


Update: Tim McIntyre, Domino’s VP of communications, writes to say that Doyle’s words on CNBC have been widely misinterpreted:

Here’s what he actually said: the job market is creating positive pressure, and that’s a good thing. Companies will have to compete for the best employees. When he said “we,” he was referring to the restaurant industry.

In our case, don’t forget that the jobs we’re talking about are mostly delivery positions, and with tips our drivers already make, on average, well over the minimum wage and over the amounts that you’ve recently heard from other retail and restaurant companies. Depending on the market, drivers are earning much more.

[CNBC]

Domino’s CEO Freely Admits Employees Are Underpaid, Doesn’t Announce