Wal-Mart Stores Inc is spending USD 1 billion to make changes to how it pays and trains hourly US workers as the embattled retailer tries to reshape the image that its stores offer dead-end jobs.
As part of its biggest investment in worker training and pay ever, Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that within the next six months it will give raises to about 500,000 workers, or nearly 40 per cent of its 1.3 million employees.
Wal-Mart follows other retailers that have boosted hourly pay recently, but because it's the largest private employer in the US, the impact of its move will be more closely watched.
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.
"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, which Wal-Mart announced Thursday as it reported fourth quarter results, come at a time when there's growing concern for the plight of US hourly workers.
Thousands of hourly workers and their supporters have staged protests across the country 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 Obama to raise the federal minimum wage from USD 7.25 to USD 10.10 an hour.
And a new Associated Press-GfK poll found that most Americans support increasing the minimum wage.
At the same time, the competition for retail workers is becoming increasingly stiff. As shoppers get more mobile savvy, retailers are seeking sales staff that's 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 US division a 17 per cent average raise to USD 10.76 an hour.
