If you’re starting a new job with Walmart, you can expect to be paid less than you would have a few months ago.
Walmart, the country’s biggest private employer, is adjusting its pay scale, according to a report from The Associated Press. That means some new store workers – such as those filling online orders – start at a lower salary.
The change, first reporte by The Wall Street Journal, became effective in July and creates “consistency in starting hourly pay across individual stores,” spokeswoman Anne Hatfield told the AP.
The exception would be those who work in the deli, bakery and auto care departments, jobs that require a higher skill set. The changes don’t impact current employees, Hatfield told AP.
“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 told AP.
The moves come as the U.S. job market added 187,000 jobs in August.
Walmart Inc. announced in January that U.S. workers would get pay raises the following month, increasing starting wages to between $14 and $19 an hour. Starting wages currently ranged between $12 and $18 an hour, depending on location, according to the AP report.
