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The
world's largest retailer said 932,000 store employees received a
quarterly bonus this year. This was a jump from 880,000
employees in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 and 687,000
workers in fiscal 2015.
Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States,
with about 1.5 million workers including hourly store staff,
store management and truck drivers. Hourly workers at the
company's nearly 4,600 U.S. locations are eligible for quarterly
bonuses based on the performance of their store.
This increase in bonuses comes after the retailer bucked a
string of weak earnings by its rivals and reported a
better-than-expected quarterly performance last month, saying it
benefited from more efficient U.S. stores and higher employee
wages that fostered better customer service.
It also comes at a time when the retailer is cutting back-office
jobs. Earlier this month, Wal-Mart said it will cut about 7,000
jobs, mostly in accounting and invoicing positions at its U.S.
stores, and will offer affected employees consumer-facing
positions.
Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg said until two years ago
Wal-Mart's internal targets focused more on metrics like higher
store sales. However, in the past two years the retailer has
pivoted towards a greater emphasis on customer service by
bringing more employees to the front of the store from its back
rooms.
Wal-Mart has also increased entry-level wages to $10 an hour and
said it will invest $2.7 billion in employee compensation and
training over two years, a move it has said contributed to
improved service levels.
"As a result employee turnover has reduced and you have more
people on the sales floor," Lundberg said.
The retailer also recently launched a new system for scheduling
workers at 650 U.S. stores to improve staffing levels during
peak shopping times and offer more certainty over hours for
employees.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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