Walmart plans to start paying its one million US workers at least $11 an hour and give them a one-off cash bonus.The move follows last month’s US tax code overhaul that cut the corporate rate from 35% to a flat 21%.Hourly-paid employees will get the higher rate from next month. It is the latest in a line of US giants that have promised to pass on some of the cash unleashed to staff. Others, including Wells Fargo and AT&T have promised wage rises or bonuses. Full and part-time workers at Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, will receive a bonus of up to $1,000 based on their length of service. Those with 20 years of service will get the full $1,000.The bonus payments will cost the company, which is worth $295bn, a total of $400m. The raise will increase the average hourly pay at Walmart for full-time employees from $13.85 to $14.50. Hourly workers will be paid between $11 and $24.70 an hour.Trump hails America’s ‘largest tax cut’
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“We are early in the stages of assessing the opportunities tax reform creates for us to invest in our customers and associates and to further strengthen our business, all of which should benefit our shareholders,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart chief executive.”However, some guiding themes are clear and consistent with how we’ve been investing – lower prices for customers, better wages and training for associates and investments in the future of our company, including in technology.”Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the US.”Walmart raised its minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2015 and the following year offered a $1 rise to those who completed an internal training scheme.
Source: BBC News