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Walmart cuts starting pay for new employees: Who does it affect and how much will they get paid?

Starting in July, Walmart began cutting the starting salary of certain new employees. Find out who will be affected by this new measure.

Walmart is changing the initial hourly wage structure for certain store workers as a cost-cutting measure as the labor market slows and following a return to shopping habits prior to the pandemic.

During the coronavirus pandemic, several companies saw an increase in grocery and e-commerce sales. However, many shoppers have returned to pre-pandemic shopping habits, such as visiting more stores and shopping online less, which has slowed e-commerce sales.

Walmart cuts starting pay for new employees: Who does it affect and how much will they get paid?

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Walmart has cut the starting pay of new store employees who pick and pack online orders, as well as those who stock shelves. Those workers help prepare orders for pickup at stores or delivery to customers’ homes, as well as replenish items on store shelves.

According to the outlet, the changes went into effect in mid-July. New Walmart employees joining the digital or warehouse teams now earn about a dollar an hour less than they would have earned if they had been hired several months ago.

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Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said no current employees in those positions suffered pay cuts. As part of the July change, Walmart also modified pay bands for more experienced employees, leading to a pay increase for approximately 50,000 store employees, Hatfield said, according to CNBC.

Hatfield also noted that the new pay structure will not change Walmart's minimum hourly wage of $14 or lead to pay cuts for existing employees.

In a statement, Walmart said it made the change so that its starting salary would be consistent whether a store employee worked the register, stocked shelves or helped with online orders ( via CNBC).

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,” the statement says.

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