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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday January 11 2018, @10:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-the-catch dept.

Walmart is boosting minimum pay across all of its stores and handing out bonuses. The CEO says that it's thanks to tax reform:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is boosting its starting hourly wage to $11 and delivering bonuses to employees, capitalizing on the U.S. tax overhaul to stay competitive in a tightening labor market.

The increase takes effect next month and will cost $300 million on top of wage hikes that were already planned, the world's largest retailer said Thursday. The one-time bonus of up to $1,000 is based on seniority and will amount to an additional $400 million. The company is also expanding its maternity and parental leave policy and adding an adoption benefit.

"Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the U.S.," Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said in the statement.

The move comes three years after Wal-Mart last announced it was raising wages, spending $1 billion in 2015 to lift starting hourly pay to $9 and then to $10 for most workers the following year. The increase cut into profit and was criticized by some longer-tenured employees as unfair to them. Since then, many states have enacted minimum wage laws, meaning that a "sizable group" of its 4,700 U.S. stores already pay $11 an hour, according to spokesman Kory Lundberg.

Walmart is expanding a "Scan & Go" program from 50 to 150 stores. "Scan & Go" would allow customers to use a smartphone app to scan items and then walk out of the store with them. Kroger is experimenting with a similar "Scan, Bag, Go" program. These are seen as a response to Amazon, which has been trialing delivery of fresh foods and same-day deliveries. Amazon revealed an "Amazon Go" concept brick-and-mortar store in 2016, with no cashiers in sight.

Maybe Walmart's big plan is to give better pay to a dwindling amount of employees.

CEO letter to employees. Also at CNBC and USA Today.

Related: Walmart Wants to Deliver Groceries Directly Into Your Fridge
Walmart to Deploy Shelf-Scanning Robots at 50 Stores
Walmart is Raising Prices Online to Increase in-Store Traffic


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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 12 2018, @05:08AM (4 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday January 12 2018, @05:08AM (#621266) Homepage Journal

    Now, a couple struggles with 2 incomes and without kids.

    And what, precisely, did you think would happen when you doubled the workforce by telling women that not having to hold down a job was oppression? Double supply, halve demand.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 12 2018, @06:05AM (3 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday January 12 2018, @06:05AM (#621277)

    "We" (including my parents and grandparents) did this to ourselves - the majority of families having dual incomes means that things like real-estate just become twice as expensive, grocery stores crank up their prices (and profits) because people can afford it, the "standard of living" supposedly doubles, but so much of what we pay for isn't cost+, it's whatever the market will bear. Quality and value have only marginally increased while profits have soared.

    I have a decent job, and my wife has worked for the family, in the home, not earning outside money for the last 18 years. It is still possible to do without inheriting a fortune or receiving disability benefits. We live in an "average" home, drive "average" used cars, give the kids an "average" education, but only because my pay is far above the national average.

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    • (Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:54AM (2 children)

      by SanityCheck (5190) on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:54AM (#621628)

      #1 greatest swindle of our times. Swindle #2 is immigration.

      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:22AM (1 child)

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:22AM (#621671)

        Can't be knocking immigration - 98% of my ancestors were immigrants from Northern Europe, the other 2% walked the land bridge to Alaska a bit earlier. None of them had a nickle to their name when they got here, most would have been in prison or worse if they didn't come.

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        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @09:17AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @09:17AM (#621741)

          Right, but in the current "wave" you are not the 98%, you are the 2%. Also, if one of those bozo "genetic" scams tells you you are 2% anything, it's a fucking lie.