Walmart full-time and part-time associates will soon have more money going into their pockets as the big box store announced this week that it will increase pay.

In April, nearly 500,000 associates will receive a raise of at least $9 per hour, and by Feb. 1, 2016, their pay will increase to at least $10 an hour.

CNN Money reported that the wage increase and other improvements in work conditions will cost the retail giant $1 billion this budget year.

The pay and policies of the company have come under scrutiny recently.

In fact, Black Friday protesters in November demanded a $15 an hour minimum wage companywide.

Michael Saltsman, research director at the Employment Policies Institute, released a statement in response to the increase.

“Walmart’s decision to increase its store minimum wage to $10 an hour exemplifies how wages rise in a free economy: by choice, not by government mandate,” he said. “Just because a $10 minimum wage is the right choice for Walmart, however; does not mean it should be mandated for all other businesses, regardless of industry or size.”

Saltsman cited that the city of San Francisco recently experienced a rash of small business closures after the city passed a 36 percent minimum wage hike.