Wal-Mart announced major changes to the way it compensates employees Thursday.
The retail giant hiked its starting wage to $11 an hour and offering increased benefits for parents as well as a one-time $1000 bonus for some workers.
But it’s not out of generosity. It’s thanks to savings that come from the President’s new tax plan.
“We actually estimate that Wal-Mart can generate about $4 billion in incremental free cash flow,” Barclays Analyst Karen Short, told Cheddar. “This is just a portion of the allocation.”
The company joins the likes of Bank of America, JetBlue, and AT&T, which have all returned savings from the tax plan to their workers.
But wages at Wal-Mart have been in the spotlight for some time. Facing pressure from advocacy group’s, the retailer has upped what it pays employees three times in the past 3 years.
Still, even with the announced increases, the starting wage is still below the $15 rate for which employees have argued.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/wal-mart-raises-wages-cites-tax-reform).
With the Fed likely set to leave rates unchanged, lower and middle income Americans will continue dealing with higher credit card interest and expenses.
Markets soared in May after Nvidia’s Q1 success, but concerns over slowing consumer spending, especially among middle—and lower-income groups, loom large.
