Walmart boosts worker benefits for holiday shopping season

The supply chain crisis is hitting various global companies, and major retailers are facing rising costs in everything from labor to transportation . Especially in the environment where the epidemic is still raging in the United States, labor has become a resource that major retailers are competing for, and Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is no exception.

Walmart is raising wages for more than 565,000 employees, according to foreign media reports . Walmart announced last Thursday that it will raise wages for employees in departments such as food and general merchandise by at least $1 per hour, and the wage standard will take effect on September 25. The large employer is trying to prepare for the upcoming busy holiday shopping season and attract and retain employees in the challenging labor competition .

In a letter to employees , John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., said this is the third wage investment Walmart has made for workers in the past year . In the past year, Walmart has increased the wages of approximately 1.2 million workers in U.S. stores , and the average hourly wage at Walmart in the U.S. is currently $16.40.

Back in February , Walmart raised wages for 425,000 employees, mostly for the company's fast-growing online grocery pickup business. In July, Walmart said it would cover 100% of its employees' college tuition and book costs. Earlier last week , Walmart announced plans to hire about 20,000 workers for its supply chain in preparation for the upcoming holiday shopping season .

Walmart's minimum starting wage will rise to $12 an hour from $11 as of Sept. 25. Still , that's lower than the $ 15 an hour minimum wage offered by rivals Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which are trying to improve employee benefits to retain workers amid fierce competition for labor.

Some politicians and companies in the United States have blamed the worker shortage on increased unemployment benefits. But studies have shown that these benefits alone are not keeping workers at home . The labor shortage is the result of a combination of factors , such as a lack of child care , health issues related to COVID-19 , and general fatigue from stressful, low-paying jobs .

In the upcoming holiday shopping season, retailers will usher in a wave of sales surges, and they will need more workers to maintain normal operations. Sellers should also prepare early to ensure that the sales operation of the holiday shopping season is completed smoothly.

Walmart

Workers' welfare