NO FIRM in the world matches the economic imprint of Walmart. The retailer, based in Arkansas and known across America for its vast “supercentres” and low prices, is the world’s largest company by revenue. Its 2.2m worldwide workforce is about the same size as China’s army, excluding reservists. Sam Walton built his empire with a relentless focus on costs: “Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage,” he said. Yet change is afoot at “Wally world”. In April 2015 Walmart abruptly raised the wages of its lowest-paid staff: all now earn at least $9 an hour. On February 1st that will rise to $10 an hour for trained-up workers—fully one-third higher than the federal minimum wage.
The change is curious, because in the past Walmart has paid notoriously little. In 2014 the average hourly wage of an American cashier was $9.93. According to data from Glassdoor, a jobs website, Walmart’s cashiers then took home $8.62. Retail salesmen made $12.38 nationwide; at Walmart, they earned only $8.53.
Walmart wages were low, but not pitifully so; for both cashiers and...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1WPLOFU
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