Citibank & Panera Bread: 2 stories show minimum wage is having a moment

Free bread's not enough... The CFO of Panera told CNBC that he's suffering through 100% employee turnover every year. With 100K employees, this stat means the carbo-loaded chain needs to hire 100K people every year because about 100K quit every year. Let that sink in. And get this:

• The "turnover rate" is even higher in the rest of fast food — up to 150%.
• That means more than 1 person quits from the same position each year, and the company just has to keep on rehiring.

Different industry, same problem... To keep employees from leaving, Citigroup just increased its minimum wage to $15/hour, finally catching up with Wells Fargo ($15/hour), but still trailing JP Morgan ($15-18) and Bank of America ($20).

• High turnover is driven by our ridiculously low unemployment rate (3.7%) that puts workers in high demand, more able to switch jobs and make more money.
• The response is to do nothing or pay more to preempt a cook from bouncing to Chipotle for an extra buck or two an hour.