Walmart associates in Wisconsin receive $11.9M in bonuses

MILWAUKEE -- On Thursday, March 8, Walmart associates received approximately $11.9 million in combined bonuses, as more than 890,000 associates nationwide received a share of more than $560 million.

That includes more than $160 million in cash bonuses based on stores’ Q4 performance and more than $400 million in one-time cash bonuses tied to recent changes in tax law.

According to a news release, the bonuses, along with an annual pay raise for hourly field associates, are included in their March 8 paycheck. Between Q4 performance bonuses, tenure-based bonuses, pay increases and recent paid time off cash outs, more than $1 billion flowed to U.S. hourly associates during the months of February and March.

In January, Walmart announced plans to increase the starting wage for all hourly associates in the U.S. to at least $11, expand maternity and parental leave benefits and provide a one-time cash bonus for eligible associates of up to $1,000. A new adoption assistance benefit of $5,000 per child – announced in conjunction with the other changes – went into effect on February 1.

Walmart associates earn quarterly bonuses as part of an overall incentive plan designed to reward associates whose stores achieve sales and customer service goals.

Hourly associates in Wisconsin earned more than $3.5 million following Q4 comp sales of 2.6 percent in Walmart U.S.

For the full fiscal year, U.S. associates shared more than $625 million in performance-based bonuses, including more than $23.8 million shared by Wisconsin associates. Walmart also recently cashed out to associates more than $300 million in unused paid time off.

In Wisconsin, the company operates 59 retail units, spent $4.4 billion with local suppliers, supporting 1,046 supplier jobs in 2017 and paid more than $93.5 million in taxes and collected more than $197.4 million in sales taxes in 2017.