Walmart raises wages of 565K employees by $1

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Walmart on Thursday announced it would increase wages for some 565,000 retail workers by $1 ahead of the holiday buying surge.

The move brings the average hourly rate for store workers to $16.40, U.S. CEO John Furner said in a memo sent to staff. CNBC and Yahoo Finance reviewed copies of the letter.

"Effective Sept. 25, associates in the Frontend, Food & Consumable and General Merchandise work groups will receive at least a $1 an hour raise. That means a raise for more than 565,000 store associates," he wrote. "It's our third wage investment in store associates over the past year.

The announcement comes one day after the company announced plans to hire 20,000 new employees at Walmart and Sam's Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and transportation offices. The average hourly wage for such positions is $20.37.

Walmart and other large employers in the United States have implemented new perks and higher wages in recent months to attract employees, particularly amid worker shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, the company said it would pay 100% of college tuition and books for employees, and in April announced plans to make most store employees full time by 2022. Walmart hired an additional 20,000 seasonal workers in September 2020, and made 500,000 new hires in the six months after March 2020 in an effort to beef up staff to handle online sales related to the pandemic.