McDonald’s, Chipotle to Raise Menu Prices After California Approves $20 Fast Food Minimum

McDonald’s, Chipotle to Raise Menu Prices , After California Approves $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage.

Fast food workers in California will receive at least $20 an hour starting April 1, 2024, Fox News reports.

Fast food workers in California will receive at least $20 an hour starting April 1, 2024, Fox News reports.

During an earnings call on Oct.

30, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the new law will have "a wage impact for our California franchisees.".

Certainly, there’s going to be some element of that that does need to be worked through with higher pricing, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, via earnings call.

There’s also going to be things that I know the franchisees and our teams there are going to be looking at around productivity.

, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, via earnings call.

How all of that plays out, there will certainly be a hit in the short-term to franchisee cash flow in California, tough to know exactly what that hit will be because of some of the mitigation efforts, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, via earnings call.

Chipotle Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung also revealed on an earnings call that the company will probably raise prices in the state by a "mid-to-high single-digit" percentage.

Aside from wages, other rising costs often prompt restaurants to increase their prices.

Over the past year, inflation has risen to 3.7% across all items, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

September 2023's general food index was 2.4% higher than the previous year, according to the Department of Agriculture.