Walmart to offer managers company stock as compensation

The country’s largest retail store will now hand out stock grants to store managers as part of compensation packages. Walmart Inc. announced the change Monday, adding to an increase in salary made earlier this month.

Store managers can now see stock grants as high as $20,000 per year for the largest stores, with smaller store managers eligible for grants of $15,000 or $10,000. 

Walmart already increased store manager wages by an average of 9 percent earlier this month to $128,000 per year and expanded bonus compensation to up to 200 percent of salary. The moves discourage turnover at the key managerial positions.

The company stock has skyrocketed in recent years, rising by 75 percent in the last five years. Stock is up about a half-percent Monday on the news, closing just short of an all-time high at $165 per share.

Cedric Clark, Walmart executive vice president, described the expanded compensation for managers as an “investment.”

“We see an investment in you as an investment in our culture, our core values and in the day-to-day experience of every associate in every store,” he said earlier this month. “Investing in you is an investment in our future.”

Walmart has more than 10,000 stores in the U.S. and more than 1.6 million employees, according to the company. It is the single largest private employer in the country.