Target said Monday it will spend about $ 200 million on another round of employee bonuses and expand its coronavirus-related benefits after the strong holiday season.
The discount store will provide $ 500 bonuses to all hourly workers and $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 bonuses to store executives and others in executive positions. It said it spent $ 1 billion more on employee benefits and pay in fiscal 2020 than in 2019.
Target has been one of the beneficiaries of pandemic trends as shoppers consolidate travel, fill larger baskets, and use curbside pickup. That pattern continued over the holiday season, driving the company’s comparable store sales up 17.2%, while ecommerce sales more than doubled in November and December.
This is the fifth time Target has given extra wages to employees during the pandemic. It also sped up plans to increase starting wages to $ 15 an hour in July.
It also has extensive pandemic-related benefits for its employees, such as payment for those who have to go into quarantine or stay at home after illness, access to virtual doctor visits, and free backup care for employees’ family members.
Target stocks are up 66% over the past year, bringing its market value to $ 96.1 billion. Analysts expect the company to report fiscal 2020 earnings of $ 9.22 per share on revenue of $ 92.71 billion in early March, according to a Refinitiv survey.