Median worker’s pay was $19,177 last year at the world’s biggest retailer
Walmart Inc.WMT -1.74% paid its median worker $19,177 last year, while Chief Executive Doug McMillon earned $22.8 million, according to a securities filing Friday.
That places the retailer 10th among S&P 500 companies with the widest gap in pay between the CEO and a typical worker, based on an analysis of more than 330 firms that have disclosed the figures so far.
Retailers, which often rely on part-time and seasonal workers to fill their labor force, take four of the top 10 spots on the list of companies with the largest pay gap, including Kohl’s Corp. and Gap Inc. Mr. McMillon earns 1,188 times more than the median employee, according to the filing.
“Our company is unique because we are significantly larger than most of our peer group companies in terms of revenue, market capitalization, and the size and scope of our world-wide associate population,” said Walmart in the filing.
The company is one of the largest private employers with more than 2.3 million employees world-wide and around 1.5 million in the U.S. The figures include both full-time and part-time workers.
Walmart disclosed the pay ratio as part of a broader requirement of the postcrisis Dodd-Frank law that went into effect this year.
Among the 18 retailers that have reported this data so far, Walmart’s median pay falls near the middle. By comparison, Amazon.com Inc. ’s median worker earns $28,446, while Gap employees fall at the bottom of the group at $5,375.
“We have focused on our associates and we have focused on the pay, the training, so they can build a career with us,” said Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove.
Walmart has raised the minimum pay for its U.S. store workers in recent years, moving to $11 earlier this year, amid a tight labor market.
Retail-industry officials argue that median-pay and pay-ratio figures for their industry shouldn’t be compared with others because the widespread use of part-time and seasonal workers makes both look more extreme. The rules for calculating the figures don’t allow companies to annualize most pay figures.
Walmart also said it will shuffle its board. McDonald’s Corp. Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook will join the board, while longtime independent lead director James Cash and Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom won’t stand for re-election, according to the filing. Earlier this year, Sarah Friar, chief financial officer of mobile payment company Square Inc, joined Walmart’s board.
