Walmart Increases Store Manager Pay
Walmart has unveiled a plan to simplify the pay structure of its store managers and redesign their bonus program, the latter of which will give store managers the chance to earn an annual bonus that’s up to 200% of their salary. Under the new plan, store managers’ average salary will increase to $128,000 per year from $117,000 a year, starting next month.
“Making Walmart the best place to shop means we need to make it the best place to work,” wrote Cedric Clark, EVP of store operations, Walmart U.S., in a note to Walmart U.S. store managers. “To accomplish that, we are on a journey of investing in our associates – from offering competitive front-line pay to benefits that support associates’ health and well-being in all aspects of life.”
[Read more: “Walmart Expands Virtual Health Care Benefits”]
Continued Clark: “We see an investment in you as an investment in our culture, our core values and in the day-to-day experience of every associate in every store. Investing in you is an investment in our future.”
He went on to observe that approximately 75% of Walmart store, club and supply chain managers started as hourly associates, including himself in a sporting goods department in Washington state. “I was able to grow my career because people invested in me,” explained Clark. “I know firsthand that the possibilities are endless when working at Walmart. And the possibilities are endless for you and for everyone you lead every day.”
A college degree isn’t required for a management position at Walmart.
Walmart’s investment in its store managers follows years of wage investments in its front-line hourly associates. In line with that strategy, also starting next month, its U.S. average hourly wage will increase to more than $18 an hour. Despite this, a recent report in The Wall Street Journal revealed that Walmart had revised its pay structure to pay some new store associates less amid a cooling labor market.
Each week, approximately 240 million customers and members visit Walmart’s approximately 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.
