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Monday, August 03, 2015

Seattle CEO Who Set Firm's Minimum Wage To $70G Has Hit Hard Times

The Seattle CEO who reaped a publicity bonanza when he boosted the salaries of his employees to a minimum of $70,000 a year says he has fallen on hard times.

Dan Price, 31, tells the New York Times that things have gotten so bad he’s been forced to rent out his house.

Only three months ago Price was generating headlines—and accusations of being a socialist -- when he announced the new salary minimum for all 120 employees at his Gravity Payments credit card processing firm. Price said he was doing it, and slashing his $1 million pay package to pay for it, to address the wealth gap.

The Times article said Price’s decision ended up costing him a few customers and two of his “most valued” employees, who quit after newer employees ended up with bigger salary hikes than older ones.

“He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump,” Gravity financial manager Maisey McMaster, 26, told the paper.

Approaching burnout, she quit.

Grant Moran, 29, also quit, saying the new pay-scale was disconcerting

“Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me,” he told the paper. “It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”

Read more here

3 comments:

Anonymous said...


Yeah, so....but, but, but now the slackers are making a 'living wage' and can afford burgers made by $15 hr burger flippers.

If we all got paid just the same as Congress all problems would go away, rain would gently fall overnight and Moochie meals would be delish!

Anonymous said...

It doesn't take a GENIUS to predict this reaction from employees. The good ones quit and the loafers won't work, so nothing gets done... This is the way our government works. BUT a "for profit" enterprise doesn't have unlimited funds to keep going.

Anonymous said...

Idioot!