'You guys are too much': The Atlantic thinks Walmart is 'selfish' for doing THIS?

Sarah D. | 5:07 PM on February 19, 2015

OK, this is a new one:

The selfish reasons Wal-Mart raised its wages http://t.co/SVAJS3ssJf pic.twitter.com/HlbKMAgxao

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) February 19, 2015

Here. Allow them to explain:

The CEO of Walmart announced earlier today that all of the company’s employees will, starting in April, be paid at least $9 an hour, nearly $2 more than the federal minimum wage. That’s still far short of the $15 per hour pushed for by OUR Walmart, a union-like group of Walmart workers. Still, it’s a change for a company that has stubbornly opposed such a raise for years.

…

The second reason for the raise is less specific to Walmart. The American economy’s recovery in the past few years has led to an increase in the number of jobs and a decrease in the unemployment rate—both of which mean that companies will have to start paying their employees more in order to get them to stick around.

From this perspective, Walmart’s decision is a selfish one: The company realized that it could hire workers at $7 an hour, but couldn’t hold on to them unless wages were bumped up. Aetna, Ikea, and The Gap have all come to similar conclusions. “I would expect to see many other small and large firms do the same,” Bloom says.

So basically, Walmart decided to pay its employees more in order to keep up with demand — and the company can afford to do so. And that makes them … selfish?