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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
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Dr Spin on Friday January 12 2018, @03:08PM (6 children)
who the hell needs social programs?
People whose employers have "financial accidents", get run over by buses, are caught running Ponzi schemes, or get bought out by asset strippers to name but a few.
In America, you could also add accident and crime victims, and people who get sick for some reason.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 12 2018, @07:53PM (5 children)
Or you could stop subsidizing the stupidity of people who choose not to save for a rainy day.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday January 15 2018, @06:28AM (4 children)
I'm pretty sure we originated the discussion at minimum wage.
Anyone below 2x min wage doesn't get to save for rainy days (unless they live at their parents').
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 15 2018, @09:54AM (3 children)
Bullshit. I did. It wasn't pleasant but even working shit jobs I was never fool enough to spend like unfortunate shit isn't guaranteed to pop up in life.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday January 15 2018, @05:51PM (2 children)
How long ago?
My coworker's son just broke his wrist. Not exactly an extraordinary event.
Was sent to the wrong hospital, maxed out the out-of-network, plus follow-ups should max his in-network: $20000 total left to pay after insurance.
That's over a year of minimum wage, enough to force most minimum-wagers into bankruptcy.
Minimum wage has definitely not kept up with the real inflation of shit-happens costs.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 15 2018, @07:47PM (1 child)
If he's old enough to have a kid he has no business working at a minimum wage job for longer than it takes to find something that is not a minimum wage job, which he should be absolutely busting his ass to find. Minimum wage should not be a comfortable wage. You should damned near starve on it and you sure as fuck shouldn't be able to raise a family on it. Adults should have adult jobs. The problem with America is not that minimum wage is too low. It's that grown-ass adults are so utterly worthless that they can't get better.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:39PM
Walmart is the biggest retailer. How many people do you think are getting that $11/hr ?
It ain't for kids. It's "take it or move, because we killed all other local stores" wages, and hundreds of thousands of people have to take it.
You seem pretty deluded ... tens of millions of Americans with families are on minimum-wage jobs. Pretty often, they have two of them. It's the new normal.