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The world's largest retailer said the increase would take effect
in February and that it would also expand maternity and parental
leave benefits and offer a one-time cash bonus, based on length
of service, of up to $1,000.
The pay increase and bonus will benefit more than 1 million U.S.
hourly workers, it said.
Walmart's announcement follows companies like AT&T Inc, Wells
Fargo & Co and Boeing Co, which have all promised more pay for
workers after the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress passed a
tax bill last month that cut the corporate tax rate to 21
percent from 35 percent.
President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have argued
that the big corporate tax cut will benefit workers and lead to
more investment by U.S. companies.
"We are in the early stages of assessing the opportunities tax
reform creates for us," President and Chief Executive Officer
Doug McMillon said in a statement. The tax law gives the
retailer an opportunity to be more competitive globally and to
accelerate investment plans for the United States, he said.
The increase in wages will cost approximately $300 million on
top of wage hike plans that had been included in next fiscal
year's plans, the company said.
The company is offering a one-time bonus to all full and
part-time employees based on their length of service, rising to
$1000 for employees with 20 years of service. The one-time bonus
will amount to $400 million in the current fiscal year.
The company raised its minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2015. In
2016, it said employees who finished an internal training
program would be eligible for $10 an hour. The retailer has
spent about $2.7 billion to increase wages over the past few
years.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Frances
Kerry)
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