Walmart adds hourly employee bonus after manager pay hike

Driving the news: Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said on a call with reporters that about 700,000 employees will be eligible for annual bonuses up to $1,000. The program recognizes performance and years with the company, Furner said.

• "Everything's better when turnover goes down and tenure goes up," Furner said. "We're really pleased that our turnover has gone down over the last year."
• Walmart told Axios it doesn't share exact turnover figures externally.

The big picture: Walmart announced the new bonus program and more education opportunities ahead of its annual shareholders' business meeting Wednesday, Axios' Worth Sparkman reports.

State of play: Furner said associates requested the program and asked for a bonus that rewards them for the performance of their stores.

• He said the average U.S. wage is about $18 an hour and Walmart has increased base wages about 30% over the last five years.

Yes, but: The hourly worker bonuses are much smaller than bonuses for store managers announced in January, which can be up to 200% of their salary.

• The company raised the average manager salary from $117,000 to $128,000 effective in February.

By the numbers: The first payout for the new annual bonus program for hourly workers will be in March 2025, Walmart told Axios.

• Walmart has approximately 1.2 million U.S. associates and the majority are hourly employees, the company said.

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