New benefits aim to address Gen Z’s financial challenges in hiring 19,000 more workers
Chipotle Mexican Grill has unveiled a new set of benefits as it seeks to hire 19,000 more employees ahead of a busy "burrito season."
The American restaurant company announced last week new financial wellness and mental wellbeing support for its over 110,000 employees.
This includes a new Employee Assistance Programme that offers employees six free sessions with a licensed counsellor or mental health coach, as well as access to tools and resources for legal, financial, and family matters.
The EAP, SupportLinc, is powered by CuraLinc Healthcare to address employees' mental and emotional wellbeing, according to Chipotle.
The benefits were announced as the food chain opens its doors to 19,000 more crew members in the coming months.
The massive hiring comes ahead of what the company is calling the "burrito season," or its busiest period from March to May.
Financial wellness benefits
The company also announced that it will pay off student debt while helping them save for retirement as part of the company's financial wellness benefits to assist younger employees.
"Utilizing SoFi's Student Loan Verification (SLV) service, once an employee becomes eligible for Chipotle's 401(k) plan match, the company will match up to four per cent of an employee's salary through contributions to their 401(k) if they make eligible student loan payments," Chipotle said in a media release.
Chipotle will also grant employees access to SoFi's financial well-being education platform, which will give employees an assessment over and suggestions to prove their current financial status.
The firm also said it will also help boost their employees' credit scores through Cred.ai, which also offers a high-tech Visa card with faster access to pay checks.
Chipotle said its new benefits address the needs of the Gen Z staff, which make up more than 73% of its current workforce, who may be facing significant financial challenges.
The benefits add on top of the organisation's all-crew bonus programme, access to mental health care and medical, dental, and vision insurance, tuition reimbursement, among other perks.
"Empowering our talent is embedded in our company's culture," said Ilene Eskenazi, chief human resources officer at Chipotle. "As we push toward our long-term goal of operating 7,000 restaurants in North America, it's crucial that we listen to and adapt to the needs of our team members, so they can grow with us."
