Wal-Mart to Give Hourly Workers $2 Billion in Bonuses

While members of Congress and the Obama administration continue to point fingers at one another over who’s to blame for allowing taxpayer-supported AIG to pay out millions of dollars in executive bonuses, Wal-Mart this week announced it was awarding $2 billion in extra compensation to about 1 million of its hourly workers in the United States this year, Convenience Store News reported.

During the current recession, Wal-Mart’s low price positioning has helped it win a greater share of consumers’ spending. The discounter is one of the few retailers to report positive sales growth during these down times.

In a memo to employees, recently named CEO Mike Duke wrote: “I believe the key to our success was how associates in every area of our company came together around our shared purpose.”

The payouts include bonuses, profit sharing, discounts and 401(k) and stock plan contributions, and represent an increase from the $1.8 billion in bonuses the Bentonville, Ark.-based company distributed to workers last year.
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