Walmart to increase wages for 425,000 workers in U.S.
Walmart said Thursday that it was raising wages for 425,000 of its U.S. employees, as the giant retailer and other companies face mounting pressure to increase pay for low-wage workers.
The wage increases mean that about half of Walmart’s 1.5 million U.S. workers would earn at least $15 an hour, CEO Doug McMillon said on a conference call with investors.
Shares of Walmart Inc. fell 6.5 percent on Wall Street on Thursday after the company said it will increase spending on worker salaries and automation.
The move, which was announced as part of the company’s fourth quarter earnings, does not raise Walmart’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, which rivals such as Target and Amazon have already done.
Walmart’s minimum wage remains at $11 an hour for many workers, although the company has been raising its starting pay for select positions during the pandemic.
The announcement of higher wages comes about a week after McMillon met with President Joe Biden and his top economic advisers to discuss, among other issues, the administration’s interest in raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.
On the conference call with investors, McMillon was asked about whether the company would eventually raise wages for all its employees to $15 an hour.
McMillon said the $15-an-hour minimum for all workers was an “important target, but it should be paced in a way that is good for the U.S. economy.”
He said the wage increases announced Thursday were part of helping workers build a career at Walmart by paying them more over time as they move into managerial roles.
McMillon said the new raises would be geared toward workers who had been with the company for some time and would be focused on digital and inventory management roles, which have been an important part of the company’s growing online grocery business.
“On the wage side, you will see us continue to make investments at the right time,” McMillon said.