Part of the liberal agenda in blue states is to raise the minimum wage to what they call a living wage. Despite minimum wage jobs being intended for teenagers, retirees looking to supplement their income, and unskilled workers seeking experience, IiberaIs want the 16-year-old salting french fries at the local fast food joint to be making the same as more experienced, skilled laborers.
Of course, this isn’t in any way fair and will certainly drive up prices for food and basic services, but one of the hallmarks of blue states is caring about optics as opposed to functionality.
Rather than absorb huge financial losses due to having to pay certain employees $20 dollars an hour, numerous Pizza Hut franchises in ultra-left California have announced a preemptive move, cutting the workforce in an attempt to stay profitable in the face of a ridiculous increase in the states minimum wage.
Two different franchises in the Golden State reported their intentions according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications filed to the California Employment Development Department.
The layoffs are expected to take effect in February, only weeks ahead of the wage hike. The increased wages are a result of Assembly Bill 1228 and apply to California workers who qualify under certain conditions.
Under the bill, any fast food location that has more than 60 locations nation wide must increase its minimum wage from $15.50 an hour to $20.00 an hour. The statewide increase will affect an estimated 500,000 employees, and the likely price increases sure to follow will affect many more.
Many restaurant owners opposed the legislation, claiming they couldn’t stay competitive with the increased labor costs.
While many on the left claim the layoffs are coincidental, the timing is dubious and points directly at the new wage requirements. The Pizza Hut franchises said in their disclosure that the locations made a business decision to eliminate first-party delivery services and, as a result, the elimination of all delivery driver positions.
The affected counties incIude Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Sacramento, among others. The franchisees, PacPizza, include Southern PacPizza, CalPac Pizza II, and Cal PacPizza. Customers of those locations will no longer be able to get delivery from the actual stores.
Instead, it is pick-up or a third-party app like DoorDash or Uber Eats. As for the parent company, Pizza Hut, they are taking a hands-off approach and allowing their franchisees to run their operations as they see fit.
Pizza Hut said in a statement that it was aware of the recent changes to deIivery services at certain franchise restaurants in California. They further explained: Our franchisees independently own and operate their restaurants in accordance with local market dynamics and comply with all federal, state, and local regulations while continuing to provide quality service and food to our customers via carryout and delivery.”