Walmart will give its workers the day off on Thanksgiving, plus special cash bonuses this summer, a recognition of living up to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a memo to store associates Tuesday seen by Yahoo Finance, the nation’s largest retailer and largest employer said it was considering ways to offset a holiday shopping season that will be “different” as the COVID-19 outbreak restructures dramatically public life.
“Throughout all of this, Walmart associates have continued to help their fellow citizens obtain the food, medications, supplies and support they need,” wrote United States CEO John Furner.
Like most retailers, Walmart opens on Thanksgiving to jump-start Black Friday sales, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season and one of the most important periods on the retail calendar. This year, the retail giant will give up at least some of that revenue by closing all of its nearly 5,000 stores in the United States.
In the letter, Furner said an associate at a Round Rock, Texas, store wrote to management suggesting “they close for Thanksgiving during this unusual year, so our associates can spend the day with their families.”
“Our best ideas come from our associates, and this year we have decided to close our stores on Thanksgiving Day – November 26th. We know it has been an exhausting year, and you have stepped forward. We want you to enjoy the day at home with your loved ones, “he wrote.
For the past two years, the large retailer began its shopping bonanza at the Black Friday store on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. local time. Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart, the membership store, will see its nearly 500 locations closed over the holidays again this year. Walmart has not closed its entire fleet of stores for the Thanksgiving holiday since the late 1980s, a company spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.
In addition, the retailer plans to deliver another round of special cash bonuses to Walmart’s nearly 1.5 million American associates for their work this summer.
“You have been working at an incredible rate, you have solved problems and you have set an incredible example for others,” Furner said.
For associates employed with the company as of July 31, full-time workers, excluding salaried office personnel, will receive $ 300, while part-time or temporary workers will receive $ 150, totaling $ 428 million. Bonuses will arrive in paychecks on August 20.
To date, Walmart has distributed $ 1.1 billion in special cash bonds.
Walmart (WMT) shares last traded nearly 1% to more than $ 132.
Julia La Roche is a correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
