Walmart is giving US hourly workers new bonuses that increase the longer they've been at the company

• Walmart just announced a new slate of pay and benefits perks for US hourly associates .
• Some 700,000 workers are eligible for a new bonus that increases with their years with the company.
• The retailer is also expanding online training options, as well as piloting a trades career pathway.

Walmart wants more workers to stick with the company for longer .

The retailer just announced a new slate of pay and benefits perks for US hourly associates, including a new bonus that increases with their years with the company.

Around 700,000 part- and full-time workers are now eligible for annual bonuses that are tied to their store's performance, the Associated Press reported.

Walmart told AP that full-time workers who have been with the company between one and five years would be eligible for a maximum of $350, while a 20-year employee would be eligible for a maximum of $1,000.

The moves follow a 30% increase in average wages over the past five years to nearly $18 per hour, the company said.

More than two-thirds of hourly Walmart workers are full-time, meaning they work an average of at least 34 hours a week, and employees who work at least 30 hours a week are eligible to receive health benefits .

Walmart is also expanding online training options through its Live Better U certificate program, which now has 50 skills that associates can complete in four months.

The company also said it is piloting a trades career pathway with 100 hourly associates in the Dallas area, training workers in higher-paying technician jobs in areas like facilities maintenance, refrigeration, HVAC, and automation.

"These jobs make between $19 and $45 an hour and offer opportunities to build a meaningful career while meeting a business need for the company," Walmart US CEO John Furner said.

A spokesperson told the AP the trades program is similar to a truck driver training program announced two years ago, which has since produced more than 500 new drivers.

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