By Rob Wile -
NBC News
Walmart's top managers can now earn more than $400,000 annually, after the retail giant announced it is offering the chance for some managers to earn $20,000 in stock starting in April.
In a video posted to LinkedIn on Monday, Walmart CEO Brian Furner stated that the amount of stock awards would be based on the type of store where the manager is employed.
Walmart Supercenter managers are eligible to receive a maximum of $20,000.
Combined with a previously announced new median salary of $128,000 and the ability to earn up to 200% of that salary in bonuses, a Walmart manager could receive up to $404,000 a year.
A Walmart worker, in Richmond, California, on August 15, 2019. Getty Images
"A Walmart store manager runs a multimillion-dollar business and manages hundreds of people, and it's a much more complex job today than when I ran a store," Furner explained.
"We are asking our managers to step up to the plate and
act as owners
. Now they will literally be owners."
A Walmart spokesperson previously told NBC News that there are approximately 4,600 Walmart stores, including more than 3,500 Supercenters.
[The 12,000 jobs that the giant UPS will cut represent just over 2% of its payroll]
The company has estimated that about 75% of Walmart managers started out as hourly workers at the company, suggesting that many of them never graduated from college.
However, Walmart has more recently begun turning to college graduates to help fill the ranks of a managerial talent pool that is reportedly slowing: In 2022, it launched a program for college graduates and college students that are less than 12 months away from graduating.
The program, which Walmart associates are also eligible for, allows employees
to "learn the ins and outs of Walmart"
and train to be a salaried member of a local store's management team.
[Tax filing season opens: these changes may benefit many taxpayers]
Walmart also announced this month that the average hourly wage for American workers was going to rise to $18 an hour.