- Amazon, Bank of America Announce Wage Increases
- Proposed Pay Package Could Make Musk World’s First Trillionaire
- New Report Shows a Rise in Worker Pushback for RTO
- Wells Fargo Settles DEI Lawsuit Over Fake Interviews
- Employers Standing Firm on Jobs, Benefits Despite Economic Pressure
Amazon, Bank of America Announce Wage Increases
Amazon is increasing its average pay to more than $23 per hour, according to an announcement made Sept. 17. Some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year.
The e-commerce company said it would also lower the cost of its entry healthcare plan to $5 per week and $5 for copayments, starting next year. That will reduce weekly contributions by 34% and copays by 87% for primary care, mental health and most nonspecialist visits for employees using the basic plan.
Additionally, Bank of America recently announced it raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $24 per hour, the latest step in the company’s commitment to $25 by 2025. With the increase, the minimum annualized salary for full-time employees in the U.S. will rise to nearly $50,000. The increase applies to all full-time and part-time hourly positions in the U.S.
In the last seven years, Bank of America raised its minimum hourly wage from $15 to $24 in 2024. With the latest adjustment, starting salary for full-time U.S. employees at the bank will have gone up by nearly $20,000 since 2017.
Proposed Pay Package Could Make Musk World’s First Trillionaire
As reported by CNBC, Tesla’s board of directors is asking investors to approve a new pay plan for CEO Elon Musk worth about $975 billion. The full award would give Musk more than 423 million additional shares. He currently holds about a 13% stake in the electric car company.
The New York Times reported Musk has a net worth of more than $400 billion. The new pay could add around $900 billion to that fortune if he succeeds in raising Tesla’s stock market value to $8.5 trillion from about $1.1 trillion today. It would be, by far, the richest compensation of any executive in corporate history and leave him owning nearly 29% of Tesla.
Additional operational milestones in the 2025 CEO Performance Award include:
- 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered;
- 10 million active full-driving subscriptions;
- 1 million robots delivered;
- 1 million Robotaxis in commercial operation; and,
- A series of adjusted EBITDA benchmarks.
“If [Musk] performs, if he hits the super-ambitious milestones that are in the plan, then he gets equity — it’s 1% for each half-trillion dollars of market cap, plus operational milestones he has to hit in order to do that,” Tesla chair Robyn Denholm told CNBC.
Investors are expected to vote on the plan Nov. 6.
New Report Shows a Rise in Worker Pushback for RTO
Seventy-six percent of U.S. workers said they would look for a new job if remote work were eliminated, according to a 2025 State of the Workforce Report by career website FlexJobs.
Based on a survey of more than 3,000 U.S. professionals, the report also noted:
- 27% of respondents reported knowing someone who has quit or is planning to quit because of return-to-office (RTO) requirements.
- 53% said they or someone they know was required to return to the office in the past year, a dramatic jump from 23% in 2024.
Additionally, the survey found 69% of workers would accept a pay cut for remote work, an 11% increase from 2024. Of that 69%:
- 31% would accept up to a 5% cut.
- 24% would accept up to a 10% cut.
- 9% would take a cut of up to 20%.
- 5% would go beyond a 20% cut.
When evaluating new opportunities, 85% of respondents said remote work is the top factor motivating them to apply for a job, ranking ahead of:
- Competitive salary and benefits package (72%)
- Work-life balance (65%)
- Meeting job requirements (61%)
- Job stability and long-term potential (58%)
- Healthy, inclusive corporate culture and aligned values (54%)
- Opportunities for career growth and development (43%)
“Low quit rates and trends like ‘job hugging’ may suggest a workforce that is staying put, but that does not mean workers are not quietly considering a job change,” said Toni Frana, a career expert at FlexJobs. “As our latest report shows, it comes down to what workers are willing to accept before deciding to job-hop, and most are drawing the line at remote work.”
Wells Fargo Settles DEI Lawsuit Over Fake Interviews
As reported by HR Dive, Wells Fargo and investors have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against bank executives over their alleged role in “sham” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices.
The lawsuit stems from a 2022 New York Times report alleging some Wells Fargo employees staged interviews for jobs that were already filled to meet a company diversity target, which the complaint says led to an 8.6% drop in the bank’s stock price.
Wells Fargo has rejected the claims, saying it “does not tolerate discrimination in any part of our business.”
According to the Sept. 15 court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the parties reached a settlement “after extensive arms-length negotiations.” A motion for preliminary approval of the settlement is expected to be filed by Oct. 13, according to court documents. A hearing has been requested for mid-November.
Employers Standing Firm on Jobs, Benefits Despite Economic Pressure
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, most businesses remain committed to maintaining their workforce, according to the results of Principal Financial’s latest Well-Being Index, released Sept. 3. Nearly half of survey respondents (48%), consisting of business leaders and decision makers, said they would only consider staff reductions as a last resort, and 70% would never, or only as a last resort, reduce or eliminate the employee benefits they offer. In the last three months, half of businesses (50%) have increased staffing while only 13% have reduced it, holding steady with the prior quarter.
“The labor market has shown resilience, despite rising cost pressures,” said Amy Friedrich, the benefits and protection president at Principal. “Business owners are adapting to tougher conditions and treating layoffs as a last resort. Their priority is keeping teams intact so they’re ready to capture growth opportunities when uncertainty lifts.”
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