Here’s how much the average Kansas Walmart worker will make after pay raise

Does your Walmart greeter seem a little more cheerful these days?

It could be because more than 9,250 Walmart and Sam’s Clubs workers in Kansas will see their wages increase beginning next month.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant said this week that’s the number of Kansas employees who will benefit from the company’s plan to increase its starting wage across the country to $11 an hour.

The higher base wage, effective Feb. 17, also will push its average hourly wage in the state to $13.91 an hour, Walmart said in a news release.

Walmart employees previously started at $9 an hour, increasing to $10 an hour after completing a training program.

As part of the wage increase, the company also said it was awarding all employees a one-time bonus following passage of the tax reform bill.

Walmart said more than 12,900 of its full- and part-time employees in Kansas are eligible for the bonus, the amount of which varies based on length of service. Walmart and Sam’s employees with at least 20 years qualify for a $1,000 bonus, the company said. The company estimates it will award a total of $5.5 million in bonuses to Kansas workers.

The base wage increase was originally announced by Walmart on Jan. 11, hours before the company said it would close 63 of its 660 Sam’s Clubs.

A Sam’s Club spokeswoman said in an e-mail to The Eagle on Thursday that none of the nine Sam’s Clubs locations in Kansas — including three in Wichita — are closing.

The wage increase and bonuses also will apply to the 104 workers at the company’s service center for health and wellness receivables, a Walmart spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. Walmart announced on Wednesday plans to close the Derby center in August.

Contributing: Associated Press

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how much the average Kansas Walmart worker will make after pay raise."