Walmart increasing minimum wage to $14 an hour

Retail giant Walmart announced on Tuesday it will increase store employees’ pay to $14 an hour, up from $12. 

In a company memo sent on Tuesday, President and CEO John Furner wrote that Walmart plans to invest in higher wages for associates, adding that the move will include “a mixture of associates’ regular annual increases and targeted investments in starting rates for thousands of stores, to ensure we have attractive pay in the markets we operate.” 

“We expect these raises will bring our U.S. average hourly wage to more than $17.50,” Furner wrote. “They’ll be reflected in March 2 paychecks.”

The chief executive added that the company is creating more high-paying positions within its auto care centers and will recruit more employees to earn their commercial driver’s licenses and become company truck drivers, who can earn up to $110,000 in the first year. 

Walmart will also add new college degrees and certificates to its Live Better U program, which covers tuition costs for full- and part-time employees, the memo reads. 

Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield told CNBC in a statement that starting in early March,  store employees will now make between $14 and 19 an hour, a boost from the $12 to 18 hourly wage they currently earn. 

Hatfield said that about 340,000 store employees will receive a raise with this move.