Reading that quote in isolation from the rest of the article sounds like, “and this didn’t help the situation”, not “if it hands been for these higher wages, we would have been totally fine.”
Let’s face it, if business is hard, any increased expense is going to hurt (and is going to be mentioned in your bankruptcy filing), even if it’s insignificant in isolation.
Reading that quote in isolation from the rest of the article sounds like, “and this didn’t help the situation”, not “if it hands been for these higher wages, we would have been totally fine.”
Let’s face it, if business is hard, any increased expense is going to hurt (and is going to be mentioned in your bankruptcy filing), even if it’s insignificant in isolation.