Texas chicken finger chain is paying teenager managers $50,000-a-year as generous COVID benefits trigger worker shortages

Texas chicken finger chain is paying teenager managers $50,000-a-year as generous COVID benefits trigger worker shortages and force bosses to pay more to retain staff

• A Texas fast food restaurant has promoted some teenage workers into managerial positions due to a shortage workers in the labor market
• Layne’s Chicken Fingers had been losing staff to Walmart and McDonald’s
• Some of the younger workers in their late teens and early 20s are now earning more than $50,000-a-year
• There is an excess of job openings partly due to people claiming unemployment insurance benefits which can often end up paying more than jobs on the market 

A Texas fast food chain is paying teenage managerial workers $50,000 salaries to try and retain talent amid a huge staff shortage partly-blamed on generous COVID handouts.

Layne’s Chicken Fingers, based in Texas, has found with many workers reaping the benefits of unemployment checks until September, it has been hard to fill job openings.

It means that staff who would otherwise be more junior are being fast-tracked and promoted into well-paid positions relative to their age, with Layne’s owner Garrett Reed hopeful that the generous salary will encourage workers to stay, and help him expand his chain.