Lowe’s hourly employees and managers will see another round of bonuses in their paychecks

Lowe’s home improvement retail employees can expect to see another round of bonuses in their paychecks beginning this week.

The Mooresville-based home improvement retailer is giving $90 million worth of bonuses to hourly employees and $70 million incremental bonuses to assistant store managers and supply chain supervisors nationwide, Lowe’s said Wednesday during a fourth-quarter earnings call.

“This is simply to say thank you, and as the company delivers profit above our target levels as often as we can, we try to share it with our frontline associates,” Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said during a roundtable discussion with Charlotte reporters following the earnings call.

Lowe’s operates over 1,700 home improvement stores and employs approximately 300,000 people.

The one-time bonuses are part of the company’s overall $220 million in discretionary and profit-sharing bonuses this quarter. Eligible employees receive quarterly profit-sharing bonus based on their position.

Full-time hourly store employees, and hourly supply chain and support center workers, will receive $375, and part-time workers will get $190. Eligible employees will see the bonus this Friday.

Lowe’s also is giving $7,500 incremental bonuses to assistant store managers and supply chain supervisors, on top of their annual incentive bonus, Joe McFarland, executive vice president of Lowe’s stores, said during the earnings call. Employees will receive teh bonus on March 10.

The bonuses are part of Lowe’s strategy to remain competitive and retain employees. Investments in hourly workers have helped Lowe’s fill 80% of leadership positions from within over the last year, McFarland said.

“We’re focused on becoming the employer of choice in retail where associates choose to stay to build their careers,” he said.

Lowe’s wages and bonuses

Lowe’s gave two similar bonuses to hourly workers last year.

Last September, Lowe’s gave its hourly workers $55 million in bonuses during a time of high inflation. Hourly workers also received a quarterly profit-sharing bonus that varied based on their position.

In December, Lowe’s invested $170 million in a permanent wage increase for hourly workers and $200 million in hourly bonuses ahead of the holidays.

Lowe’s also gave seven similar pandemic-related employee bonuses in 2020 and 2021.

In total since 2018, Lowe’s has invested over $3 billion in incremental wage and share-based compensation for its front-line workers, including increasing wages by over 20%, company spokesman Steve Salazar told The Charlotte Observer.

Since December, Lowe’s has expanded employee benefits including sick leave for part-time employees and flexible work scheduling options for full-time workers.

Lowe’s earnings report

Lowe’s reported net earnings of $957 million during the fourth quarter ending Feb. 3, compared to $1.2 billion in 2021.

However, the fourth quarter included a 14th week, compared to 13 weeks the year prior, adding about $1.4 billion in sales, Lowe’s said in a news release. Lowe’s reported total sales for the fourth quarter were $22.4 billion compared to $21.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business decreased 1.5% in the fourth quarter.

Last month, Lowe’s completed the $400 million sale of its 15-year-old Canadian business to Sycamore Partners.

Lowe’s has more than 12,000 employees in the Charlotte area, including about 7,000 corporate workers, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.