Wal-Mart Confirms More Than 1 Million Associates To Receive Pay Increase In 2016

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT announced in a press release that more than 1.2 million of its associates at both Walmart and Sam's Club stores will receive a pay increase as part of the company's 2-year, $2.7 billion investment in its workers. Wal-Mart noted that a pay raise is scheduled to occur on February 20 and marks the largest single-day, private sector pay increase ever. Wal-Mart added that all associates that were hired prior to January 1, 2016 will earn at least $10 per hour. Associates who were hired after January 1 will earn $9 per hour but will be boosted to $10 an hour after successfully completing a training program known as Pathways. Following the pay raise, Wal-Mart's average full-time hourly wage will be $13.38 per hour and the average part-time hourly wage will be $10.58 per hour. "We are committed to investing in our associates and to continuing to simplify our business. When we do so, there is no limit to what our associates can accomplish," said Judith McKenna, chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. "Our customers and associates are noticing a difference. We're seeing strong increases in both customer experience and associate engagement scores. Five straight quarters of positive comps in our U.S. business is just one example of how helping our associates grow and succeed helps the company do the same." Shares of Wal-Mart were trading at $60.72 mid-Wednesday afternoon, down nearly 3 percent on the day.