Wowprime announces up to 7% raise for full-time employees

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Restaurant chain Wowprime Corp. said Wednesday that it will raise wages for its full-time employees by up to 7 percent starting from Jan. 1, 2025.

As for part-timers, Wowprime, which owns more than 30 brands in Taiwan and China with Wang Steak as its flagship brand, said hourly pay will be raised by 2-10 percent from next year.

After the pay hikes, the starting wage for Wowprime's full-time employees will hit NT$35,800 (US$1,102), while the hourly pay including incentives to encourage part-timers to be present in every scheduled time slot will reach up to NT$220.

In addition, the maximum hourly night shift wage at Wowprime's hotpot restaurants Chin Huajiao, Xianla, and God Guo will hit as high as NT$255, the chain said.

Wowprime cited a preliminary estimate as saying the pay raises are expected to increase its operating costs by about NT$100 million annually.

Despite the higher costs after the pay increase, Wowprime said it is planning to recruit 1,200 people next year with most of them to be allocated to its barbecue and hot pot brands.

Wowprime said chefs and managerial trainees in its five major hot pot restaurants are expected to have starting wages of NT$45,000 a month and after seven months of training and completion of a performance evaluation, their wages could top NT$70,000.

Wowprime added full-time employees will receive bonuses every year, while they will have three chances a year to get a pay raise.

The restaurant chain said it has teamed up with Swedish furniture brand IKEA to remodel three employee offices and dormitories in Sanchong of New Taipei and Kaohsiung by the end of this year. In 2025, Wowprime will remodel an additional 20 dormitories.

In the first three quarters of this year, Wowprime posted NT$12.41 in earnings per share (EPS), compared with NT$13.55 in EPS a year earlier.