Walmart workers will soon see a bump in their paychecks to an average above $15 an hour, which will impact approximately 425,000 employees, the chain’s executives just announced, according to CNBC.
Walmart is the largest private employer nationwide with around 1.5 million employees. Executives say the company plans to continue to provide opportunities for its workers. Around 75 percent of its management started as hourly employees.
“We will raise our starting wage over time, and I think our history proves that,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.
Hourly pay at Walmart is based on where a store is located. Given the past year where Walmart has witnessed toilet paper shortages and a huge increase in online traffic, store management expects business to return to normal sometime this year, according to Bloomberg.
The company’s new starting rates will fall between $13 and $19 an hour. While the chain prepares to spend more money on salaries this year, executives say they will also invest about $14 billion on automation and the supply chain, among other expenses.
That is a jump from the $10.3 billion the company spent on capital expenditures last year. Target and Amazon have already raised their starting wage to $15 an hour for their workers.
President Biden has also stressed his desire that the federal minimum wage be increased to $15 an hour in order to help more American households rise above the poverty line. Alongside Congress, he’s looking at raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current rate of $7.25 an hour.
