Walmart plans to hire 40,000 workers for holiday season

It’s no secret that companies hire more workers during the holiday season to meet the high demands during this time. Walmart announced it will hire 40,000 seasonal and/or full-time associates in preparation for the holiday season. The company says it is hiring for a range of positions, including seasonal store associates, customer service associates, and 1,500 full-time truck drivers. This year, Walmart has been expanding its private trucking fleet, increasing potential first-year pay to $110,000 in April.

Those who are currently associates at Walmart will have the option to add extra hours to their shift during the holiday season. Walmart will then add additional holiday associates where needed. NBC News reported, “ These associate positions saw three wage hikes last year that brought the average hourly wage to $16.40. This year, Walmart increased pharmacy workers’ average wage to $20 per hour and boosted its U.S. average hourly wage above $17.”

Walmart hired more seasonal associates for the holiday season this time last year, hiring 150,000 primarily full-time associates, and another 20,000 supply chain workers to help with the high demand. According to the company, more than half of its seasonal associates in the United States will transition to part-time or full-time positions in the coming year.

This holiday season is expected to be just as stressful considering the supply chain issues worldwide on top of the impacts of the pandemic.