The chief executive of a payment processing start-up company – Gravity Payments – has definitely paved some serious ground for the best boss award, cutting his own pay package to bolster that of his employees.
Dan Price, made an announcement via YouTube earlier this week, that went viral after his message of working against wage inequality, saw him cut his own salary by 90 per cent.
In his video he says, ‘we’re going to have a minimum of $91,000 (US$70,000) for everyone who works here”.
The boost in wages will take effect over the next three years, with the lowest-paid employees receiving at least $65,000 (US$50,000) by the end of the year, with the pay level of $91,000 ($70,000) being reached by December 2017.
Price admitted that his pay package was “really high”, and during a time of low-profits, he saw it fitting to reduce his income to that of his employees, until the company was trading at a high again.
The firm, based in Seattle, employs more than 100 people, and will hopefully act as a catalyst for debate to be refuelled on wealth and income inequality in the United States.
Price maintained this was the best policy for his business, ensuring that the highest productivity occurred when his employees felt supported; “the way we look at it is – it’s about trust and it’s about value. When you take care of people, they tend to take care of you”.
