Wal-Mart, America's biggest private employer and one known for offering little more than dead-end jobs, is giving raises to nearly a half-million U.S. workers and offering what it says are more opportunities for advancement.
Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that as part of $1 billion its spending to change the way it trains and pays workers, the company will give raises to nearly 40 per cent of its 1.3 million U.S. employees in the next six months.
In addition to raises, Wal-Mart said it plans to make changes to how workers are scheduled and add training programs for sales staff so that employees can more easily map out their future at the company.
The company said the changes, which were announced on Thursday as Wal-Mart reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, will hurt profits this year.
"We are trying to create a meritocracy where you can start somewhere and end up just as high as your hard work and your capacity will enable you to go," CEO Doug McMillon told the AP during an interview this week at the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The changes come at a time when there's growing concern for the plight of America's hourly workers.
Thousands of U.S. hourly workers and their supporters have staged protests across the U.S. in the past couple of years to call attention to their financial struggles. Business groups and politicians have jumped into the fray, debating a proposal by President Barack Obama to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. And a new Associated Press-GfK poll found that most Americans support increasing the minimum wage.
At the same time, competition for retail workers is becoming increasingly stiff. As shoppers get more mobile savvy, retailers are seeking sales workers who are more skilled at customer service. But in the improving economy, the most desirable retail workers feel more confident in hopping from job to job.
Wal-Mart, which has struggled for two years with sluggish sales, follows other big retailers that have announced plans to increase pay for its workers. Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea this year gave thousands of workers at its U.S. division a 17 per cent average raise to $10.76 an hour. And clothing chain Gap Inc. raised its minimum hourly wage to $9 last year and to $10 this year.
Because of its massive size and impact, Wal-Mart has faced outsized pressure by organized labour groups to raise its starting hourly wages to $15 and provide workers with more consistent hours. With its new changes, the company's average full-time wage will be $13 an hour, up from $12.85. For part-time workers, the hourly wage will be $10, up from $9.48.
That's below the $14.65 average that hourly retail workers in a non-supervisory role earn, according to government data that includes people who work at auto dealers and other outlets that would likely pay more than discounters like Wal-Mart. But it's above the $9.93 average hourly pay for cashiers and low level retail sales staff, according to Hay Group's survey of 140 retailers with annual sales of $500 million.
Ed Lazear, a Stanford University economics professor who served as an informal adviser to Wal-Mart during the past year for the program, applauded Wal-Mart's moves.
"It's positioning itself to be competitive," he said. "This is a step in the right direction."
McMillon, whose first job at Wal-Mart was an hourly position loading trucks during college, said the company is making the changes in both wages and training because it realizes it needs to do more than just pay more. In a survey Wal-Mart conducted of 24,000 workers, it found that many don't know how to move up at Wal-Mart.
McMillon, who became CEO last year, said he's hoping that if the company invests in its workers, they will provide better customer service. And ultimately, he hopes that will encourage shoppers to spend more.
"We want to make it really clear that working at Wal-Mart is a great opportunity," he said. "Time will tell what the significance of the decisions will be."
_____
Follow Anne D'Innocenzio at — —https://twitter.com/adinnocenzio
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.