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Retail

The CEO of Popeyes Has a Surprising Stance on the $15 Wage

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 13, 2015, 3:35 PM ET
Company Signs
Popeyes Louisiana Chicken sign in Moorpark, CAPhotograph by Lynne Gilbert — Moment Editorial/Getty Images

Popeyes (PLKI) CEO Cheryl Bachelder says it’s time to move forward from the debates surrounding minimum wage pay for fast food workers.

“Everybody in retail is dealing with an increase in minimum wage,” said CEO Cheryl Bachelder to CNN Money. “We will adjust to increased costs just like we have before. Life will go on. There’s been too much hubbub about it.”

Although minimum wage has been a talking point for many of the Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Bachelder explained that the wage hikes will go into effect despite what voters want thanks to large retailers already transitioning to pay increases.

For instance, the topic has been brought up repeatedly on the campaign trail and discussed during the debates. Ben Carson recently backtracked on prior comments on the subject. In July, Hillary Clinton vowed to boost minimum wage in the U.S.

“Labor costs are going up. When Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), and McDonald’s (MCD) moved wages higher, the marketplace moved with them,” Bachelder added. “I’m a big believer in free markets and the market has acted.”

She did, however, add that the changes should be gradual and cannot happen immediately. “We are used to making adjustments over time. Going to $15 an hour overnight is not plausible,” said Bachelder.

Her comments come in light of other retail CEOs speaking out against raising the minimum wage, including Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN) CEO Nigel Travis.

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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