(Reuters) -Walmart Inc is phasing out its decades-old quarterly bonuses for store workers as it implements hourly wage raises for employees, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/3BUrgpZ on Thursday, citing an internal memo.
The report added the U.S. retailer would scrap the benefit, dubbed MyShare, at the end of its fiscal year on Jan. 31, and roll it into associates’ base pay.
The quarterly bonus makes up just a portion of the pay increase workers are receiving, a Walmart spokeswoman told the Journal.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Last week, the company said it planned to raise wages for more than 565,000 store workers by at least $1 an hour in its third wage investment over the past year.
With the wage increase, Walmart’s U.S. average hourly wage will go up to $16.40, it has said.
Several U.S. retailers and restaurants have been forced to cut working hours and limit operations due to labor shortages. Scrambling to find workers, a few companies are even offering sign-on bonuses between $1,000 and $5,000 to some employees.
However, the labor crunch is expected to ease starting in September, as the government-funded unemployment benefits expire.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
