Walmart, the largest U.S. employer, said Tuesday it is raising its starting hourly wages starting in February, according to a news release.
In a statement to employees, Walmart CEO John Furner stated that “starting next month, we’ll begin investing in higher wages for associates.”
“This includes a mixture of associates’ regular annual increases and targeted investments in starting rates for thousands of stores, to ensure we have attractive pay in the markets we operate,” he said. “We expect these raises will bring our U.S. average hourly wage to more than $17.50. They’ll be reflected in March 2 paychecks.”
Elaborating, Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield told CNBC that store workers who currently earn from $12 to $18 an hour will make between $14 and $19 an hour starting in early March. Some 340,000 people will see a pay increase around the same time, the spokeswoman said….