Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen's 2020 compensation package jumped to $20.6 million, the nation's largest grocer disclosed in a government filing.
McMullen got a $6.4 million raise – more than 45% – as he steered the supermarket chain with stores in 35 states through the COVID-19 pandemic last year. His total compensation in the previous year was $14.2 million, according to the Associated Press' methodology for executive compensation that excludes pension value changes.
But pay for the typical worker actually dropped 8.1% in 2020 as Kroger hired tens of thousands of new workers to handle the added workload. Median pay at Kroger slid more than $2,000 to $24,617.
This spring, Kroger said it would raise average worker pay to $16 per hour. The grocer said it spent $300 million in 2020 to boost regular wages to its associates.
McMullen's pay hike comes after a tumultuous year in which consumers altered their eating habits avoiding restaurants to minimize their exposure to new coronavirus. The shift meant a huge influx of business for supermarkets as shoppers ate the most at home in years.
Kroger's total sales surged 8.4% to $132.5 billion in 2020, helping to drive profits to $2.6 billion for the year, up 5.6%.
The pandemic also drew Kroger into a heated disagreement over hazard pay. The grocer offered temporary "hero pay" bonuses of an extra $2-per-hour during the first weeks of the outbreak but later resumed regular pay levels last summer.
Kroger closed stores in Seattle and California states where local officials enacted mandatory bonus pay during the pandemic.
Kroger's union for its associates, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) loudly argued the grocer should continue to pay the extra money through the pandemic.
"Kroger has literally made billions in pandemic profits off the sacrifices of grocery workers in Seattle and across the country," said UFCW president Marc Perrone, in a statement.
Besides Kroger stores, the grocer operates several regional supermarket chains in 35 states, including Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, Ralphs, Mariano's, Fry's, Smith's, King Soopers, QFC and others. The company has nearly 2,800 stores and employs nearly 500,000 workers.
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