Wal-Mart has announced it will give raises to 500,000 employees this year, representing about 40 percent of the 1.3 million workers at the country's largest private employer.
The company said hourly workers would earn at least $9 per hour beginning in April, and that all current employees would earn at least $10 per hour by February of 2016. The proposal would reportedly cost the world's largest retailer more than $1 billion.
Wal-Mart has long been a target for criticism over its wages and benefits; labor groups and others seeking increases in the minimum wage have called on the company to offer wages of at least $15 per hour. The move follows announcements of wage increases by other top U.S. retailers.
"We are trying to create a meritocracy where you can start somewhere and end up just as high as your hard work and your capacity will enable you to go," said Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon.
The announcement coincided with the company's fourth-quarter earnings report, which showed profits exceeding expectations due to a rapid decline in gas prices over that span. Same-store sales also beat analysts' expectation, although the company cuts its forecast for ending January 2016 due to a strengthening dollar.
The debate over U.S. wage levels has largely impacted the service and retail sectors; a report last month showed the average manufacturing worker made nearly 11 percent more than a comparable worker outside the manufacturing sector in 2012 and 2013. A recent poll showed six in 10 Americans favored raising the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour, while only two in 10 were opposed.
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