Walmart raises starting wage, hands out bonuses

Walmart Stores Inc. said Thursday that it plans to lift its minimum wage to $11 an hour for its U.S. workers and provide them with a one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000 due to expected gains from the new tax law.

The nation’s largest retailer, with about 1.5 million U.S. employees and nearly $500 billion in global revenue, also said it would expand its workers’ maternity and parental leave benefits.

The changes also apply to Walmart’s Sam’s Club, Home Office, e-commerce and logistics subsidiaries, and the new wages take effect in mid-February, the company said.

“We are building on investments we’ve been making in associates, in their wages and skills development,” Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a statement.

Although Walmart’s move lifts its overall starting U.S. wage from $10 an hour (after workers take a training course), the increase matches what’s already the minimum wage in California. Walmart has about 315 outlets in the state.

On Jan. 1, the starting wage for large companies with more than 25 employees in California rose to $11 an hour from $10.50 as part of a state minimum-wage law approved in 2016. The starting wage in California eventually will reach $15 an hour by 2022.

And minimum-wage workers in certain Southern California cities are already are being paid more than $11 an hour because of local wage ordinances.