New York
Some top Walmart managers will now make as much as $620,000 annually as part of a broader pay raise from America’s biggest retail chain.
The people receiving these pay raises are market managers who oversee around a dozen stores. Their total pay, including bonuses and stock awards, will increase from $320,000 to $420,000 on the low end and from $570,000 to $620,000 on the high end, according to a Walmart spokesperson. The Wall Street Journal first reported the changes.
Starting base pay for the market manager position is increasing nearly 25% to $160,000, with increases to the stock grants and bonuses making up the rest.
The Walmart spokesperson told in a statement that the market manager role “is key for our business and for serving our customers however they shop.”
Walmart employs more than 400 market managers who oversee around a combined 4,600 stores in the United States. The midlevel-management jobs involve long hours and traveling among the stores to check on inventory, supervise staff and deal with customer feedback, according to a job description.
The Walmart spokesperson added this is the “latest in a series of investments in hourly and salaried roles across Walmart US.”
Last year Walmart made changes to pay packages for both US store managers and hourly employees. The company increased salaries for its store manager position, with the average starting at $128,000 a year. Walmart also changed the managers’ bonus program so store profits will play a bigger role not just sales.
Also in 2024, Walmart started a bonus program for its hourly employees who have been loyal to the company. Employees can earn a bonus based on years of service, up to a maximum of $1,000 for those with the company 20 years or more.
Walmart, America’s biggest employer, has an outsized impact on the labor market for hourly workers. And like many retailers, the company has been grappling with finding and retaining the workers it needs in a tight labor market. In a bid to attract them, Walmart has raised hourly wages by around 30% over the last few years, bringing its current average US hourly wage close to $18. Starting hourly pay ranges from $14 to $19 depending on the store and local market.
Meanwhile, business has been booming for Walmart. Sales at its US stores open for at least a year grew about 5% in last quarter compared with the year prior, the company said in its most recent earnings report, and its profit grew 8%.
Walmart has drawn in higher-income customers by investing in its grocery business and using its massive scale to drive down prices during a historic bout of inflation. It has also sharpened its assortment of clothing, electronics, home furnishings and other goods. It has also bolstered its online operations against Amazon, with sales growing 22% in the US last quarter.
The company will release its next earnings report in February.
