Walmart to Bring Back Bonuses for Store Employees

By Sabela Ojea

Walmart is bringing back bonuses for U.S. store workers after scrapping its decades-old quarterly bonuses about two years ago.

The retailer on Wednesday said that both part-time and full-time employees would be eligible for the bonus, which increases based on how long a worker stays with the company and maxes out at $1,000 a year. It also applies to workers in its pharmacy and vision centers.

In 2021, Walmart said it would put an end to its quarterly bonus program as it implemented hourly wage increases for hundreds of thousands of its employees during a tight labor market.

Over the past five years, Walmart has increased hourly wages by around 30%, bringing its U.S. average hourly wage to close to $18, the company said.

Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., disclosed the news about the bonus program ahead of its annual shareholder meeting. The company most recently reported having 2.1 million store employees as of Jan. 31, 2024, according to its latest annual SEC filing. About 1.2 million of these are based in the U.S.

After facing tight demand for retail workers during the pandemic, Walmart last year adjusted its pay structure for new hourly store workers. The Wall Street Journal reported that most new hires would earn the lowest possible pay for that store. Previously, some new hires, such as those who collect items for online orders, would have made slightly more than other new staff members, such as cashiers.

Walmart also is making changes to its corporate workforce. In May, Walmart said it is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs and asked most remote workers to move to offices.

The retailer continues to benefit from higher sales both in-store and online. Walmart last month raised its sales and profit outlook for the year.

The company remains the biggest U.S. company by revenue, but its reign is under threat, the Journal reported in May. If current sales trends persist, Amazon is likely to overtake Walmart soon. Amazon reported $575 billion in total revenue last year, up 12% from the previous year, compared with Walmart's revenue growth of 6%.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2024 09:34 ET (13:34 GMT)

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