California Fast-Food Chains Brace for Minimum Wage Hike Starting April 1

Published on March 28, 2024

Restaurants in California affected by a new $20 minimum wage starting April 1 are cutting jobs and increasing automation, while others say they will raise prices to maintain profitability. “To cover the cost of the wage increase, we would need to take a mid-single-digit price [percentage] increase in California,” Jack Hartung, Chipotle’s chief financial and administrative officer, said during a February earnings call. El Pollo Loco executives said, during their own earnings call earlier this month, the wage hike will lead to a 12 to 14 percent increase in labor costs for the business in 2023. “We’re working on our whole labor tables … to see if we can be more efficient,” Ira Fils, El Pollo Loco’s chief financial officer, said during the conference call....

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