According to the Wall Street Journal, discount retail giant, Target, has just announced that it is increasing employee minimum wage to $9 an hour, starting in April of 2015.

Recent $2 Billion Cost Saving Plan

Many may be surprised to hear about Target’s plan to increase employee minimum wages since, just last week, the retail giant announced a $2 billion cost saving plan which entails plans to lay off 1,700 employees and eliminate an additional 1,400 available positions.

Matching Walmart

The move comes almost a month after Walmart’s announcement that it would also increase minimum wage for its approximately 500,000 employees to $9 an hour and to $10 an hour by February 2016.

The new wage is approximately 25% over the current $7.25 federal minimum wage requirement, although many states, including California, are already required to pay their employees at least $9 an hour. 

Pressure

The move also comes at a time that UltraViolet, a women’s advocacy group, has been pressuring Target to increase wages. The small group used inexpensive ads plastered on the Internet and social media to encourage Target to match Walmart’s decision to increase wages.

The nonprofit group had a budget of $5,000 that it used to purchase ad space from Google and other search engines. The ads appeared online for people browsing the Internet who lived near Target stores in Minnesota, Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

The ads caught the attention of many people with controversial messages that read: “Did you know there’s a Walmart near you that pays higher minimum wage than Target?” 

Still Far Less Than Other Retailers

While some might be impressed by the commitment to exceed the current federally mandated $7.25 an hour minimum wage, Target is still far below the minimum $20 an hour wage offered by companies like Costco.