- Walmart will offer warehouse employees bonuses and temporary pay raises ahead of its peak holiday shopping season.
- Bonuses include $1,000 for attending all of their scheduled shifts or a temporary pay raise.
- Walmart is the biggest employer in the US with over 1.6 million workers.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Walmart is offering its warehouse employees bonuses and temporary pay raises to work every shift they are scheduled.
While the bonus amount varies from employee to employee depending on factors like warehouse location, job, and shift, Walmart is using the incentives to encourage their employees to stay on the job and work more hours, the company told Insider on Friday. The bonuses were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Some warehouse workers will receive $1,000 over four weeks for attending all of their scheduled shifts, while some will receive pay raises until January of 2022, Walmart said.
"We're just trying to make sure our associates feel valued and they feel that we're being competitive and that they're being rewarded for all of the work they are doing leading into our peak season," a Walmart spokesperson told Insider.
Walmart is the latest employer to try and retain and attract workers through bonuses, higher pay and other perks after the coronavirus pandemic left millions of people out of work or with shortened hours. In the current labor crunch, many retail workers have also left their jobs over low wages, while others are using the situation to bargain for better pay and benefits.
As America's biggest employer and the world's biggest retailer, Walmart warehouses are preparing for their peak holiday shopping season this fall. Before this season starts, Walmart ensures that their warehouses are running smoothly and efficiently in order to handle the demands of peak season later in the year, the spokesperson said.
While the exact wages of Walmart employees vary between job and location, supply chain workers from Walmart make an average of $20.37 across the country, the spokesperson said.
This is not the first time Walmart has given its employees bonuses. Last year during the height of the pandemic, Walmart gave its employees several rounds of bonuses to incentivize work, Insider reported.
The bonuses included $300 for full-time hourly associates and $150 for part-time hourly and temporary associates, according to a statement released by Walmart. In March of 2021, Walmart also announced a pay increase to at least $15 to $19 an hour to its digital and stocking workers on the east and west coasts of the US.
Walmart employs 1.6 million workers in the US and over 2.3 million people worldwide, according to data from the company.