Chipotle on Wednesday rolled out enhanced benefits to attract and retain Gen Z workers that prioritizes financial and mental health as it looks to hire 19,000 workers for the upcoming “burrito season.”
The California-based chain said it would match up to 4% of an employee’s salary through contributions to their 401(k) if they make their student loan payments so that “employees who qualify no longer have to choose between paying off student debt or saving for retirement.”
The new hires will also be offered access to Cred.ai, which has been dubbed “the Tesla of banking” because of its high-tech Visa credit card that is designed to limit spending so that customers don’t fall into debt.
Chipotle is also partnering with SoFi to give employees access to a “financial well-being education platform” that includes “an assessment of current financial outlook” as well as “suggestions and tools to improve.”
Along with the financial perks, the company is also giving employees six free sessions with a licensed counselor or mental health coach.
The new benefits are part of a plan to beef up hiring during the busy “burrito season,” which is from March to May.
“More than 73% of Chipotle’s restaurant employees are Gen Z, and these new benefits cater to the challenges they are facing,” the company said in a statement.
The restaurant chain, which has more than 3,100 locations nationwide, offers full-time crew members annual salaries and bonuses that add up to around $43,000, according to its website.
A kitchen leader earns around $49,200, while the general manager of a restaurant pulls in $89,900.
A recent study by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found that less than half of Gen Z is “thriving” in life — a much lower rate than millennials at the same age.
While just 41% of Gen Z members between the ages of 18 and 26 said they were thriving, around 60% of millennials at the same age were thriving, according to the study.
Gen Z is the colloquial term for anyone born from 1997 onward while millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 1986.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
