Editor’s note: John Furner, president and CEO, Walmart U.S., sent the following note to all U.S. associates. Learn more about opportunity at Walmart here.
Maintaining Our Commitment to Improving Working Conditions and Increasing Investment in Employees
To: Associates working at Walmart in the United States
From: John Furner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Associates in the United States
At Walmart, we are well aware that our employees are what truly set us apart. That has never been more true than it is right now – your skills and dedication to your clients are making a daily contribution to improving the quality of life for them.
And as you continue to focus on your customers, we will continue to invest in you, our store associates, by increasing your salaries and providing you with additional opportunities to learn the skills necessary to serve customers of the future and further your career at Walmart.
Today, I am glad to offer our most recent initiatives to shape careers at Walmart, which are four new ways that we are investing in you. I hope you find them helpful!
To begin, beginning the month after next, we will begin making investments in better compensation for associates. This comprises a combination of normal annual increases for associates and targeted investments in beginning rates for thousands of stores, with the goal of ensuring that we have compensation that is competitive in the locations in which we operate. We anticipate that these increases will push the average hourly pay in the United States to more than $17.50. Paychecks issued on March 2 will reflect the adjustments.
Second, we are continuing to invest in the staff members who are in charge of our Auto Care Centers (ACC). In the fall of 2016, we established a higher-paying role for ACC coaches. We have decided to increase the salary for the job of ACC team lead, as well as move the ACC tech position into a higher pay band. These changes are being made to better reflect the unique talents required for the role as well as the significance of the function to our company.
Third, we are expanding the educational opportunities available through our Live Better U (LBU) programme by offering additional college degrees and certificates. These new alternatives are centred on the direction in which our company is heading and will provide colleagues with the skills necessary to unlock new chances for career advancement. On the first day of employment, either part-time or full-time colleagues are eligible to enrol in LBU, and we will cover the whole cost of their tuition and fees.
Fourth, we are expanding our Associate-to-Driver Program, which pays for supply chain associates to get their commercial driver’s licence and become a Walmart truck driver, earning up to $110,000 in their first year. This programme will now be available to a greater number of associates. As we said the previous week, this training programme is now also open to store associates and they can participate in it.
We are pleased to continue investing in the heritage of Walmart by creating new employment opportunities and elevating wage levels. Getting your start here can open doors for you, the first step into professions that turn into careers and build better lives no matter where you are in your journey.
We are grateful to you for everything you do each day to support our clients and the communities we work in.
