If you can put aside meaningfully pay increases for “financial challenges”, without detailing or defining the circumstances of such challenges , you are signaling a big FU to your employees. Its also creates employee uncertainty, about their financial futures, especially newer employees. They would naturally ask themselves, whats is to stop them doing this next time or indefinitely. I wouldn’t be surprised if turnover or organized labor becomes a problem in high end market levels.
I expect Express to monitor any negative results for this action. It would gauge their ability to continue doing it.
They have effectively thrown out the step system; as it has become meaningless. If a step can be sideline at the whim of a derived fiscal challenge then it serves no meaning nor guideline for newer or mid-tier employees. if step movement can defined as any unit of time, again it becomes meaningless window dressing. At a minimum, it was disingenuous to introduce it as some sort of revolutionary change in pay raises- clearly Fedex still has no standardized pay progression. i guess it was a proverbial —— tease, to entice personnel to some form of duty , or loyalty to the brand.
I dont think the 2% really bothers ppl, I think that the short notice did not allow the news to properly sink into the collective consciousness.