Wal-Mart Has Invested Heavily In Its U.S. Workforce. Is It Working?

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) completed a two-year plan to invest $2.7 billion in its employees in the United States in February. That investment included raising its minimum wage to $10 an hour, while its average full-time hourly wage climbed to $13.38 an hour for full-time workers and $10.58 an hour for part-time employees.

The wage increases were only part of the company's efforts to both improve its workforce and make employees' lives better. Wal-Mart also greatly stepped up its training and has even recently begun offering workers tools to help them manage their finances.

It's a big commitment by the company at a time when the labor market has contracted due to unemployment rates hovering around historic lows. Wal-Mart has done some nice things, but it isn't doing them just to be nice. The chain needs a well-trained, stable workforce, and these investments, at least in theory, should make that happen.

Source: Fool.com