{"id":35657,"date":"2023-11-19T11:53:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T11:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/personal-finance\/companies-are-stealthily-cutting-benefits-to-afford-higher-wages-what-employees-should-know\/"},"modified":"2023-11-19T11:53:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T11:53:18","slug":"companies-are-stealthily-cutting-benefits-to-afford-higher-wages-what-employees-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/?p=35657","title":{"rendered":"Companies are stealthily cutting benefits to afford higher wages. What employees should know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Workers may have rejoiced over big pay raises in the last two years, but the downside is they\u2019re losing non-cash company benefits, according to job and recruiting site Glassdoor.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the top three benefit cuts were in mobile phone discounts, charitable gift matching and tuition assistance, Glassdoor said. Companies are looking for ways to cut costs to pay for huge wage hikes doled out to attract and retain workers and elevated inflation over the past few years. And with the economy slowing and competition easing for workers, companies are doubling down on trimming fat in 2024, Glassdoor said.<\/p>\n

As companies pare back benefits, Americans will have to pick up the tab.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of these smaller benefits add up to an important part of household budgets,\u201d said Aaron Terrazas, Glassdoor chief economist. \u201cIt\u2019s another weight on consumer spending going into next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are companies cutting benefits?<\/h2>\n

Companies know employees would notice and bristle at smaller paychecks. So, they find other not-so-visible ways to cut costs.<\/p>\n

“When people talk about compensation, they focus on pay and wages, which are still growing more than 4% a year,\u201d Terrazas said. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t capture the full extent of the total compensation package including benefits, which has grown much more slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of talk of avoiding recession, but risks to the economy remain and worry employers: ongoing regional conflict, commodity prices amid volatile weather patterns, and still-too-high inflationary pressures. \u201cWe are not quite out of the woods yet,\u201d Terrazas said. ‘<\/p>\n

And after spending so much money on wages and inflation the last few years, companies also only have so much left in their coffers to offer. During talks with the United Auto Workers, Ford executive Kumar Galhotra said the company had no more money to offer. “We’re open to moving some money around within the deal that might fit the union’s needs better,” but “we are at the limit,” he said. Ford and the UAW eventually agreed on a record contract, even if it fell short of union demands.<\/p>\n

What benefits are getting trimmed?<\/h2>\n

Companies typically first cut hours worked (for non-salaried workers), equity and incentive-based compensation, company contributions to the cost burden of benefits like health insurance or 401(k) retirement plans, salaries for new employees and pay raises for current employees, experts said.<\/p>\n

Companies also turn to benefits like:<\/p>\n