If you are into business news you know by now that Amazon has posted a massive increase in worth. The market cap for Amazon is now over $263 billion that beats Walmart’s “pithy” $232 billion. As Jeff Bezos scores millions in his own pockets within an hour, and the Waltons continue to count their billion dollar coins, where are the employees in this game of market domination?
We wanted to do a similar comparison of positions and their salaries based on those closely matching in both companies. Glassdoor provides the best information on average salaries, so we visited the site to receive our comparisons and this is what we discovered. The positions may not be exact in related work styles or responsibilities but come close to description levels. CEO data retrieved from Salary.com
| Amazon Position/Average Pay | Walmart Position/Average Pay |
| Customer Service Rep II/Hourly $10.49 | Sales Associate/Hourly $9.34 |
| Customer Service Associate/Hourly $10.79 | Guest Service Team Member-Cashier/Hourly $9.20 |
| Picker-Packer/Hourly $11.72 | Overnight Stocker/Hourly $10.33 |
| Supervisor/Hourly $14.50 | Department Manager/Hourly $12.18 |
| Facilities Area Manager/ Annual $74,400 + bonuses closer to $95,712 | Store Manager/Annual $105,000 + bonuses closer to $150,000 |
| Operations Manager III/Annual $95,962+ bonuses closer to $134,415 | District Manager/ Annual $105,964 + bonuses closer to $166,728 |
| CEO Jeff Bezos/Annual $81,840 base pay+1.6 million in “other” pay = $1,681,840 total compensation. Bezos is also the founder and is worth more than $47 billion. | CEO C. Douglas McMillon/Annual $4,079,202 base + equity $14,597,374 + “other” $393,673 = $19,531,039 total compensation. |
There seems to be top heavy winners in the big box retail world as associates continue to earn remarkably less. Both companies are trying to connect more with their base employees by implementing educational incentives, stock options, health insurance expansion and more. While the benefits are a nice feature, many employees cannot take advantage of them because they need to work more to afford a basic life.
We spoke to a Walmart employee in Cleveland, Ohio, on the condition of anonymity and this is what she had to say, “it’s easy to categorize us as uneducated, unskilled workers but that’s not really the case. Many of us are four year graduates, like myself, struggling in a depressed job market. I work two jobs to pay my rent and other bills and receive $300 monthly from the county for food. It’s disgusting to know our higher management never has to concern themselves with real world issues.”
We had the opportunity to also speak to an at home work agent for Amazon Fulfillment. She also asked Viral Global News to keep her name off record.
“There is a lack of communication in my work group. When things change we are the last to know. My pay doesn’t compensate for the work I do, at all. Expect your life and work balance to be completely off. Bezos is a good guy, so I hear, and the benefits are nice, but good guy and benefits don’t add to my bank account. I would be willing to do less with incentives and more in the paycheck. It’s frustrating because my husband works six days a week, twelve hours and we barely see one another and the kids barely see us together.”
While shareholders and executives continue to cheer the increase of stock margins, the employees building the foundation of both of these companies are struggling to stay afloat.