Due to the hectic year, Walmart announced that it would remain closed on Thanksgiving, breaking its tradition of opening on the holiday to get a head start on Black Friday deals.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Walmart announced that its stores and Sam’s Club stores would be closed on Thanksgiving.
“We know this has been a trying year, and our associates have stepped up. We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones,” said John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S. “We are certainly thankful to our people for all of their efforts.”
At the same time, Walmart announced that all store, club, distribution center, and fulfillment center associates would receive another round of bonuses to help them through the pandemic.
“Our associates have been working at an incredible pace, they’ve solved problems, and they’ve set an amazing example for others,” Furner said. “To further appreciate their incredible work, we are pleased to share another special cash bonus this summer.”
The bonuses amount to $300 for full-time hourly associates and $150 for part-time hourly and temporary associates. Bonuses will also be paid out to drivers, managers, and assistant managers, though an amount was not specified. The total amount in bonuses will cost the company $428 million.
Walmart makes about $14.7 billion a year in profit, according to Money Nation.
The company said that this was the third bonus given to associates in 2020, which have totaled more than $1.1 billion.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, I’ve been so proud to see how our associates have pulled together to take care of each other and our members,” said Kathryn McLay, President and CEO of Sam’s Club. “These are extraordinary times, and our associates have lifted each other up in extraordinary ways, and we are so grateful.”
Walmart has made the news throughout the year for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. As The Daily Wire has previously reported, the national chain has at least twice announced a massive hiring spree since the pandemic began, even as historic numbers of Americans filed for unemployment.
“Amid historically high weekly unemployment claims – some 22 million over the course of just four weeks since most of the nation went on ‘lockdown’ – Walmart has done its part to give struggling Americans work. In just one month, the company has announced a total of 200,000 new positions,” The Daily Wire wrote in late April. “After filling 150,000 new positions that opened up last month, citing continued ‘strong demand’ at its stores, the retail giant announced in a statement posted on its corporate website on Friday that it is committed to hiring another 50,000 employees, most of them temporary, by the end of May.”
The company also made national news when it became one of the first stores in the country to change the shopping experience to fight coronavirus, The Daily Wire’s Eric Quintanar reported in early April.
“Beginning on Saturday, April 4, Walmart locations will begin limiting the amount of people inside of a given store at one time. The number of people allowed in a store will be determined by the location’s square footage, with a maximum of five people allowed per 1,000 square feet of store space,” Quintanar reported. “In addition to the new limit on customers, Walmart stores will also start directing movement throughout the store, beginning next week, to limit the amount of time shoppers interact with other people.”
Most stores have since adopted these or similar practices.