Walmart announced on Tuesday, September 17, that it will raise wages for employees at its Sam's Club stores. The pay increases will range from 3% to 6% and will take effect on November 2.
This move is part of Walmart's plan to invest more in its workforce. The amount of the raise will depend on how long workers have been employed at Sam's Club, with longer-serving employees seeing higher increases.
Sam's Club to Implement Pay Hike
In addition to the pay raise, Sam's Club will also increase its starting wage to $16 per hour. This means that new employees will begin at a higher rate than before.
Walmart also plans to make it easier and faster for employees to reach the highest pay levels at the company. This change is meant to help workers earn more money sooner, and provide a clearer path for their financial future.
This pay raise follows a trend where large companies are increasing wages to stay competitive and keep their employees. In July, Costco, one of Walmart's major competitors, raised its starting wage to $19.50 per hour, according to Business Insider.
Costco also gave its workers an additional $1 per hour raise. While Sam's Club employees will see pay increases, the average wage for Walmart's frontline workers is expected to reach $19 per hour, which is still a bit lower than the $22 average hourly wage at Costco, said ZipRecruiter.
Walmart's decision to raise wages comes after a successful financial quarter. In its August earnings report, Walmart revealed that it had made over $169 billion in revenue in just three months. The company saw a 24.4% gross profit rate during that time.
Sam's Club, which is owned by Walmart, had a sales increase of 4.7% compared to the previous year. Much of that growth came from sales of food, health products, and wellness items.
The company's financial success allows it to invest more in its workers, including these pay raises and other benefits.
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Walmart Aims to Focus on Employee Stability, Financial Security
Chris Nicholas, the president and CEO of Sam's Club, said that it's important to give employees a better understanding of what they can expect to earn in the future. He explained that in the past, retail workers mostly focused on their hourly wages, and it was rare to think about long-term financial stability.
However, Walmart's new plan aims to change that by giving employees a clearer idea of how much they will make over time, making their financial future more predictable.
Nicholas said in a LinkedIn post that this new approach will help improve employees' financial security and overall satisfaction with their jobs. Walmart hopes that by providing more than just hourly pay increases, its employees will feel more valued and confident in their future with the company.
Along with the pay increases, Walmart has been making other changes to improve the work environment for its employees. One of these changes is called block scheduling, which gives workers a more consistent schedule.
This makes it easier for them to plan their time and manage their personal lives. Walmart has also increased the number of full-time workers by 11%, giving more employees steady jobs with regular hours.
Since 2019, Walmart has been working on making many changes to benefit its employees. In fact, it has made over a dozen different wage and benefit investments at Sam's Club. These changes have affected both hourly workers and salaried employees, helping them in many areas of their jobs.
Over the past few years, Walmart has steadily raised wages for its employees. With this latest increase, the average hourly wage for Sam's Club workers has gone up by nearly 30% since 2019.
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