Walmart Slashes Starting Salaries for Some New Hires

Walmart is lowering the starting salary for some new hires as part of its new wage structure strategy.

Most new employees will make the lowest hourly wage for the store, whereas before, certain new hires made slightly more than others based on their roles, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Prior to the new wage structure, for example, new employees who filled orders for online purchases made more than new cashiers, according to the Journal.

Current workers at the country’s largest private employer won’t be affected, Anne Hatfield, a Walmart spokesperson, told The Messenger Thursday. The retail behemoth changed its wage structure for hourly workers in mid-July, the Journal first reported. 

Hatfield said the new strategy will help create consistency among hires, as well as allow for company-wide growth opportunities.

“Consistent starting pay results in consistent staffing and better customer service while also creating new opportunities for associates to gain new skills from experience across the store and lay the groundwork for their career regardless of where they start,” Hatfield said in an emailed statement.

At the same time, Walmart has implemented pay increases for more experienced employees, which Hatfield said will result in pay bumps for about 50,000 current employees. The company will also continue offering the $14 per hour minimum wage it introduced in January, which raised pay for roughly 300,000 employees. 

Walmart’s second quarter profits surged an impressive 53% from a year earlier, and the retailer raised its guidance for 2023. Consumers are "stretching their dollars further," and are "seeking better value across more categories, Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said in a call with investors last month.

Update 4:30 p.m. ET: Updated to include statement from Walmart's Senior Director of Global Communications Anne Hatfield.