by Cara Eisenpress - December 11, 2016
Next year at Li-Lac Chocolate, President Anthony Cirone will look to invest in automation, reduce employees through attrition and contemplate whether he should move out of New York City when his lease expires.
Cirone is adjusting the 93-year-old chocolate maker’s business strategy in order to afford to increase the pay for 40 full-time employees at his four Manhattan retail shops and one Brooklyn factory when New York City’s minimum wage rises to $11 on Dec. 31, the first step on the way to the state-
mandated $15-per-hour wage by the end of 2018.
To avoid price hikes, he is looking to save on labor and recently invested in a filling machine that inserts a preset amount of chocolate-covered almonds or espresso beans into a bag 30 times faster than a human.
(excerpt)
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20161211/ECONOMY/161209845/how-new-york-business-owners-are-preparing-for-the-coming-wage-hikes
