BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores here will give out about $2 billion in bonuses and other awards to hourly employees, the company said Thursday.
The figure includes $933.6 million in payroll bonuses, $788.8 million in profit-sharing and 401(k) contributions, and “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of merchandise discounts and contributions to employee stock-purchasing plans, according to a company memo from Mike Duke, Wal-Mart's new chief executive officer. The contributions are up from $1.8 billion a year ago, and reflect the strong performance the company enjoyed in 2008.
"I believe the key to our success was how associates in every area of our company came together around our shared purpose," Duke wrote in the memo, which Wal-Mart provided to SN.
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