Walmart pays out $200M in hourly worker bonuses

Wal-Mart Stores said Wednesday that 99% of its U.S. Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets stores met performance and customer service goals in the second quarter, resulting in more than $200 million in cash bonuses for more than 900,000 hourly associates at those stores.

Officials said the performance highlighted the strides the company was making in areas like store cleanliness, checkout speed and service on the heels of worker investments in recent years. Kory Lundberg, director of national media relations for Walmart, told SN the the results were up from last year's second quarter when associates at 97% of Walmart's stores shared a $162 million bonus, and from the second quarter of 2014, when just 76% of stores met their goals and split a $128 million bonus. Walmart has met the 99% figure previously, most recently during the fourth quarter of last year.

Wednesday's announcement results in an average of about $220 per hourly worker, Lundberg added. He said the bonus targets were based on a combination of sales and earnings goals for each store, along with a "clean, fast and friendly" benchmark, which is typically reset each quarter. Walmart operates about 4,600 Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in the U.S.

“Whether it’s buying something for their kids, treating themselves or saving for something great, bonus time at Walmart is always a special time for our associates,” Mike Moore, EVP, Supercenters for Walmart U.S., said.

“Our people have always been the most important part of our business and they continue to do amazing things for our customers,” Julie Murphy, EVP of Neighborhood Markets for Walmart U.S. added. “Sam Walton built this business on the idea of sharing profits with our associates and treating them as partners.”

In 2015, Walmart announced a two-year, $2.7 billion investment in education, training and higher wages. As a result, more than 1.2 million Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club associates received pay increases on the same day earlier this year. The second quarter bonuses are not part of the $2.7 billion.

Training initiatives include plans to open 200 academies across the U.S. designed to teach advanced retail skills to department managers and hourly supervisors. In February the company rolled out its Pathways training program for entry-level workers, providing training, education and opportunities for associates, offering what the company called a clearer career path from entry level positions to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay.

Making Change at Walmart, the United Food and Commercial Workers-backed coalition that has been critical of Walmart's stance on labor, in a statement Tuesday, cast a cynical eye on the bonus announcement.

“Walmart does not deserve credit for giving some workers a very small share of one of the world’s richest company’s earnings. The workers earned that bonus, and the reality is many other workers will not receive a bonus at all,” Jess Levin, communications director for MCAW, said.

“What Walmart doesn’t tell you is that workers must complete a months-long training program that is often implemented with ‘buggy and outdated technology’ in order to get that bonus, or to even receive the $10 minimum wage. We continue to hear from Walmart workers who have been making less than $10 an hour for months. If Walmart really invested in all of its workers, it would finally see the real improvements they are looking for on cleanliness, service, and checkout times.”