BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 22 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it paid about $530 million in bonuses to 813,759 hourly U.S. Wal-Mart and Sam's Club workers Thursday in a yearly recognition.
The bonuses, part of Wal-Mart's "Associate Celebration Day," follow criticism of the world's largest retailer for its pay and benefits.
Some 13,400 hourly employees with more than 20 years of service will also get a new annual bonus of a week's pay, called a "Servant Leadership" bonus, to be paid out this year, the retailer said.
The company said it had not determined the bonus's dollar amount.
Wal-Mart also said it would reward employees "who go above and beyond in providing excellent customer service" with a cash bonus. That plan will begin in mid-summer, but Wal-Mart did not say how the award would be determined or its amount.
In another change, the company said it would start paying bonuses to hourly employees -- based on sales, profit and inventory performance at individual stores -- every quarter, rather than once a year, "to reward performance on a more frequent basis."
