REI to Reduce Pay for New Hires, Shrinks Certain Benefits for All Employees

March 11, 2026

REI Co-op plans to reduce its pay rates for future employees and scale back benefits for current employees to shore up profitability.  Union organizers issued statements claiming the moves come as REI had declared an impass on negotations on a collective bargaining agreement.

In an internal memo sent out by REI in February that stated, “Effective July 1, 2026, the salary range will be reduced, which results in a lower starting hourly rate for new employees hired as of that date.”

According to Glassdoor, the starting salary range for a sales associate at REI has been $15 to $20 per hour.

In a separate message REI released last month, the company’s CEO Mary Beth Laughton since February 2025, announced to employees that the co-op would make “a few focused changes” to workers’ benefits, including slowing vacation time accrual, switching from guaranteed retirement contributions to a more traditional company match model and changing sick days from an across-the-board policy to one that aligns state-by-state with what is legally required. SGB