To lessen the effects of inflation, Lowe’s, the American retail company specializing in home improvement, announced on Wednesday that it would be giving $55 million in bonuses to its hourly staff as inflation reaches 40-year highs throughout the summer.
The bonuses will help employees as other expenses like food and housing are still high. The North Carolina-based retail company will also temporarily give its employees a 20% discount on household and cleaning items.
Interestingly enough, this decision from Lowe’s comes at a time when inflation has been on the decline, with gas prices averaging under $4 this month.
Companies like USAA, Walmart, Microsoft, and more have also granted recent bonuses, pay raises, and gift cards to help their employees combat record-high prices.
While these bonuses help workers, they are not as helpful as a pay raise. Bonuses are taxed as one-time fees, whereas a pay raise increases workers’ hourly pay.
Lowe’s staff of around 300,000 employees will receive the bonus on September 9 this year.
