Do Retail’s Regional Managers Deserve a Raise?

Walmart is hiking pay for regional store managers to more than $600,000 while cutting some perks for office managers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Market managers, who oversee groups of around 12 Walmart stores, could earn between $420,000 and $620,000 this year if they achieve their full bonuses. This represents an increase from last year’s compensation range of approximately $320,000 to $570,000, per the WSJ report.

These managers will see their stock grants increase from $75,000 to $100,000 annually, while their potential annual bonuses will now equal 100% of their base salary, up from 90%. The minimum base salary for the role will rise to $160,000 per year, up from $130,000, though the maximum base salary will remain capped at $260,000 annually.

“Walmart’s changes show that its midlevel-management jobs are still key,” wrote Sarah Nassauer, the WSJ’s retail reporter. “A market manager plays a hands-on role in running around a dozen massive stores that often employ around 300 workers apiece. The job involves long hours and many miles on the road visiting stores to check-in on staff and merchandise.”

“This role — which oversees multiple stores — is key for our business and for serving our customers however they shop,” Walmart said in a statement to Axios. “This is the latest in a series of investments in hourly and salaried roles across Walmart U.S.”

The move aligns with Walmart’s decision in January 2024 to raise wages for Walmart U.S. store managers for the first time in a decade in a move it saw ultimately translating to an investment in all store associates.

In a note to store managers posted online at the time, Cedric Clark, EVP of store operations for Walmart U.S., said that the No. 1 driver of job satisfaction at the store level is an associate’s store manager. He said of store managers, “Not only are you responsible for exceeding customer expectations day in and day out; each of you is the CEO of a multimillion-dollar business. And you’re the driving force behind the development of our next generation of leaders. We see an investment in you as an investment in our culture, our core values and in the day-to-day experience of every associate in every store.”

At the time, Walmart also raised the average wage for front-line hourly employees to $18, up from $17.50, following a separate increase in 2023. The investment in store workers comes as retailers face high turnover rates and as retiring baby boomers shrink the labor pool.

Seeming to offset labor investments at the store level, Walmart has been looking for savings at the corporate level in part by shifting health insurance plans for corporate workers to the same plans offered to most store staff, according to the WSJ report. Walmart has also reduced total compensation for some staff in offices outside its Bentonville headquarters. Last year, Walmart reportedly cut hundreds of corporate jobs and forced most of its remote workers to work out of large office hubs, leading many to leave.

The WSJ wrote, “Employers face competition to fill leadership roles at retailers and restaurants, while some white-collar jobs are drying up.”

Google, Amazon, and Meta are among corporations reducing middle management positions as corporations embrace more streamlined structures, driven by the need for faster decision-making and cost efficiency.

Joseph Roh, professor at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, told CNBC that rapid growth at many of the tech leaders drove the addition of “management layers without reassessing whether these roles are necessary,” while flatter structures promise a greater focus on individual contributions. He added that technological advancements, including generative AI, may already be playing roles traditionally held by white-collar professionals.

Roh stated, “Digital transformation plays a significant role as automation and advanced technologies reduce the need for middle managers to oversee tasks that can now be monitored by software.”