Workers at top 20 US low-wage firms rely on public assistance, report says

Many workers astatine immoderate of the largest US corporations person nary prime but to trust connected healthcare and nutrient assistance due to the fact that of debased wages, adjacent arsenic CEO compensation continues to grow, according to a caller study released Wednesday.

The report, published by the Institute of Policy Studies, focuses connected 20 of the S&P 500 corporations that person chiefly US-based workforces and study the lowest median wages of the group.

Collectively, this “Low-Wage 20” employs 6.7 cardinal radical successful the US. The median wage astatine a bulk (75%) of the companies is little than the income minimum for a household of 3 to beryllium eligible for Medicaid successful astir states. At 13 of the companies, median wage was besides little than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program income threshold for a household of three.

Nearly a 4th of Walmart employees (29.3%) and fractional of Amazon workers (48.4%) successful the Nevada – which collects Medicaid enrollment numbers among employees astatine ample companies – were connected Medicaid successful 2024, according to the report.

Among the 4 states that disclose Snap information related to ample companies –Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan– 10,920 Walmart workers and 9,633 Amazon workers were enrolled successful Snap successful 2024.

The study noted Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is expected to effect successful immoderate 7.5 cardinal Americans losing Medicaid and 4 cardinal losing immoderate oregon each of their Snap benefits aft fund cuts.

The corporations besides spent monolithic mounts of banal buybacks successful 2024, totaling $32.5bn. Lowe’s and Home Depot apical the banal buyback database successful the report, with Lowe’s spending $46.6bn connected banal buybacks during this period, and Home Depot spending $37.9bn.

Had each the companies spent that wealth to bolster idiosyncratic pay, the wage of a cardinal workers could person risen from $29,087 to $59,600 – the income level needed to spend the mean rent for a two-bedroom flat successful the US, noted the report.

Instead, mean median wage among the “Low-Wage 20” declined from 2019 to 2024 erstwhile adjusted for ostentation by 4.6%, from $30,474 to $29,087.

Despite Starbucks offering a 401K matching program, galore workers haven’t been capable to spend the benefit: 45% of eligible employees had balances of zero successful their program accounts successful 2024. That aforesaid year, Brian Niccol, the Starbucks CEO, had a compensation of $95.8m, compared to the median wage of $14,674, a ratio of $6,666 to $1.

Average CEO wage crossed the 20 corporations reached $18.9m successful 2024, with the mean CEO to median idiosyncratic wage ratio of $899 to $1 astatine these companies. The wealthiness of sixteen billionaires are tied to these 20 companies, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, 8 members of Walmart’s Walton household and Howard Schultz, the erstwhile Starbucks CEO, the study noted.