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Survey: CFOs Would Lay Off Employees If Minimum Wage Rises To $15

A picture of an empty wallet.
401(K) 2012 / Creative Commons

Chief Financial Officers across the country say that hiking the federal minimum wage could lead to mass layoffs. Rebecca Martinez reports they're not willing to move far from the $7.25-per-hour standard.

Duke University and CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey wrapped up Friday, after 74 consecutive quarters. It's world's longest-running survey of senior finance executives. They say few companies would act if the minimum wage were raised to $8.75 an hour.

But if pay jumped to $15, nearly half of CFOs said they would start laying-off employees. Two-thirds said they would curb future hiring growth at that level. The survey says that's the point at which companies would switch from human labor to robots, where possible.

But, about 40 percent of CFOs said they could probably attract higher quality workers and reduce turnover at $15 an hour, too.

Seattle decided to make that jump this summer. Time will tell whether it disturbs the robot-to-human labor balance.

Rebecca Martinez produces podcasts at WUNC. She’s been at the station since 2013, when she produced Morning Edition and reported for newscasts and radio features. Rebecca also serves on WUNC’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Committee.
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