Florida, Miami, Walmart discount department store, check out lines.
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Walmart will end quarterly bonuses, as it raises hourly wages for store employees and other workers.
A company spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday that the big-box retailer is eliminating the additional pay on Jan. 31, 2022 and rolling it into its workers’ base pay. The bonuses — dispersed four times per year — have been paid out for decades.
Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said the change will make compensation more consistent and predictable for employees. The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Walmart announced the pay structure in a memo to employees last week. She declined to provide a copy of the memo, saying it is an internal communication.
The latest announcement comes on the heels of another wage change. Walmart announced last week that it would raise its minimum wage to $12. It said that would amount to at least a dollar increase in hourly wages for more than 565,000 store workers.
Walmart’s U.S. average hourly wage is now $16.40, according to John Furner, the CEO of Walmart U.S.
Many companies have raised wages and sweetened perks as they try to attract and retain workers in a competitive labor market — but Walmart has lagged behind other retailers like Target and Amazon that have already hiked its starting pay to $15 an hour.
Walmart has emphasized other benefits, including a program that covers the cost of college tuition and textbooks for employees.
