Walmart to Raise Wages for Pharmacy Workers
Walmart Inc.
WMT 1.11%
is raising wages for its pharmacy technicians, a sign that large retail pharmacies continue to compete fiercely for some workers.
Starting next week Walmart said it would raise wages for pharmacy technicians to bring average pay for the role to more than $20 an hour. It also promised more frequent wage increases based on experience and time at the retailer, which executives believe will help attract and retain pharmacy employees.
“We are sending a strong signal to pharmacy technicians everywhere that Walmart is serious about attracting top talent and giving them the tools to build a successful career,” the company said.
Walmart said it also plans to hire 5,000 new pharmacy technicians this year. Starting pay for pharmacy technicians won’t change. It ranges from $15 to more than $22 an hour.
Pharmacy technicians, who are certified to assist pharmacists in filling prescriptions and can answer customer questions, made $17.66 an hour, or $36,740 a year, on average in 2021, according to the Labor Department. The pay was up 8% from 2019, data show.
Large retail pharmacies spent much of last year scrambling to adequately staff their locations, as many pharmacies rushed to dole out vaccines, Covid-19 tests and other pandemic services. They did so while dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks in their own ranks and a generally tight labor market.
Earlier this year some Walgreens and CVS pharmacies closed on weekends due to understaffing as the Omicron variant rippled through workplaces.
Walmart and others aim to grow their healthcare businesses to find new avenues for revenue, which means competition for those workers remains tight. Pharmacies including
CVS Health Corp.
CVS -1.59%
and
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
WBA -1.31%
have promised to increase wages to compete for workers.
CVS said last year that it would raise the minimum average hourly pay to $15 by July; it didn’t specify wage levels for technicians. The company has said it plans to spend $600 million to increase worker pay during the next three years.
On Wednesday, CVS finance chief
Shawn Guertin
said the company has remained competitive on wages. “We’ve done OK,” Mr. Guertin said at a healthcare industry conference when asked if the company has invested enough in wages to compete. “And I think it was fortunate that we launched that move before a lot of this took off in full force.”
A CVS spokesman said Wednesday that pharmacy technicians have a starting hourly rate above $15, though he didn’t say what that rate is.
Walgreens pharmacy technicians will begin making a minimum $16 an hour this year, up from the current $15-an-hour minimum, the company said Wednesday. New hires also receive a $1,250 signing bonus, paid out in two parts.
CVS and Walgreens have close to 19,000 U.S. locations combined. Walmart and its warehouse chain Sam’s Club have around 5,000 U.S. locations.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at [email protected] and Sharon Terlep at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Walmart Inc.
WMT 1.11%
is raising wages for its pharmacy technicians, a sign that large retail pharmacies continue to compete fiercely for some workers.
Starting next week Walmart said it would raise wages for pharmacy technicians to bring average pay for the role to more than $20 an hour. It also promised more frequent wage increases based on experience and time at the retailer, which executives believe will help attract and retain pharmacy employees.
“We are sending a strong signal to pharmacy technicians everywhere that Walmart is serious about attracting top talent and giving them the tools to build a successful career,” the company said.
Walmart said it also plans to hire 5,000 new pharmacy technicians this year. Starting pay for pharmacy technicians won’t change. It ranges from $15 to more than $22 an hour.
Pharmacy technicians, who are certified to assist pharmacists in filling prescriptions and can answer customer questions, made $17.66 an hour, or $36,740 a year, on average in 2021, according to the Labor Department. The pay was up 8% from 2019, data show.
Large retail pharmacies spent much of last year scrambling to adequately staff their locations, as many pharmacies rushed to dole out vaccines, Covid-19 tests and other pandemic services. They did so while dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks in their own ranks and a generally tight labor market.
Earlier this year some Walgreens and CVS pharmacies closed on weekends due to understaffing as the Omicron variant rippled through workplaces.
Walmart and others aim to grow their healthcare businesses to find new avenues for revenue, which means competition for those workers remains tight. Pharmacies including
CVS Health Corp.
CVS -1.59%
and
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
WBA -1.31%
have promised to increase wages to compete for workers.
CVS said last year that it would raise the minimum average hourly pay to $15 by July; it didn’t specify wage levels for technicians. The company has said it plans to spend $600 million to increase worker pay during the next three years.
On Wednesday, CVS finance chief
Shawn Guertin
said the company has remained competitive on wages. “We’ve done OK,” Mr. Guertin said at a healthcare industry conference when asked if the company has invested enough in wages to compete. “And I think it was fortunate that we launched that move before a lot of this took off in full force.”
A CVS spokesman said Wednesday that pharmacy technicians have a starting hourly rate above $15, though he didn’t say what that rate is.
Walgreens pharmacy technicians will begin making a minimum $16 an hour this year, up from the current $15-an-hour minimum, the company said Wednesday. New hires also receive a $1,250 signing bonus, paid out in two parts.
CVS and Walgreens have close to 19,000 U.S. locations combined. Walmart and its warehouse chain Sam’s Club have around 5,000 U.S. locations.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at [email protected] and Sharon Terlep at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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