Lowe's to pay US staff $1,000 bonus following tax reform

(Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc on Thursday said it would pay a one-time bonus of $1,000 for over 260,000 hourly U.S employees, as the home improvement chain takes advantage of changes in the U.S. tax code.

The company said it would also give new benefits, including additional paid maternity and parental leave and adoption assistance benefit of up to $5,000, to qualified hourly full-time employees.

Lowe's expects an additional net tax expense of about $75 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

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The charges and the one-time bonus, that is being paid to store, distribution center and customer and contact support centers, will hit its fourth quarter earnings per share by about 14 cents, Lowe's said.

Lowe's joins a list of companies that include Home Depot Inc <HD.N>, AT&T Inc <T.N>, Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N> and Boeing Co <BA.N>, which have promised more pay for workers since the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress passed the biggest overhaul to the U.S. tax code in 30 years.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)