Walmart workers in Arizona to share $12.5M in one-time bonus

PHOENIX — Walmart employees in Arizona will be getting a bonus averaging $300 apiece, the company announced Thursday, part of $12.5 million overall to be distributed.

Across the country, the retail giant will be handing out $560 million in employee reward cash across the country. The one-time extra pay was reflected immediately in checks.

“Our quarterly bonus program is a way for us to reward the hard work and dedication demonstrated by our associates across the state,” Paula Ginnett, vice president and regional manager in Arizona, said in a statement.

The amount of the bonuses was determined by the employees’ length of service. Workers with more than 20 years were to receive $1,000. Workers with less than two years were to receive $200.

Walmart followed Phoenix-based businesses U-Haul and Sprouts in handing out additional pay to workers after the U.S. tax bill passed shortly before Christmas.

The code overhaul gave big tax cuts to corporations, several of them returning the money to employees in the form of bonuses and improved benefits.

Shortly after the tax cuts gained approval, Walmart announced it was raising its starting hourly wage to $11 in the United States.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discount retailer has hired over 34,000 in Arizona at over 100 sites, including Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets.

Four Sam’s Club locations in Arizona, two of them in the Valley, were shut down in January.

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