I respectfully disagree. All costs are going up always. (So are salaries) That is business. What is new is telling (gaslighting) your customers in an effort to create quick demand and an acceptance buffer.
Screw them and the rest of these lazy companies….btw, I'm normally a huge Powder Valley fan. To any company: Go to your shop floor. Open your eyes. Talk to your employees. See the waste. Fix it. Make more money.
Don't confuse this with the other message the big consultants are pumping out. Theirs is more like: Reevaluate the cost of each of your current benefits. Reduce the cost of current benefits by adjusting the cost vs benefit ratio. For example, if we subsidize you lunch by $1…..just eliminate the subsidy and allow the lunch provider to deliver more expensive premium options. Find benefit providers with higher rejection of benefit rates.
Outsource as many HR functions as possible. Fire employees through policy enforcement with a weighting related to the salary and last evaluation of the employee. Basically fire your experienced employees that are not getting your highest ratings.
The reason they are trying to pass off higher prices is probably due to the softness perceived in the demand side of the market due to the union negotiation success as well as the rest of the salary market getting a bump.
Odd H1000 has just been reduced by ~$4 per lb by Powder Valley. I wonder why they are having a sale.