Walmart to Hire 50,000 More Workers Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic

Walmart is planning to hire an additional 50,000 associates to help deal with the sustained demand for its merchandise during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an April 17 blog post from Donna Morris, Walmart's executive vice president and chief people officer. In addition, Morris said Walmart has met its hiring goal of 150,000 employees during the crisis. In the post, Morris said that since announcing its hiring goal, Walmart has averaged 5,000 hires per day and has had more than 1 million applicants. To accelerate hiring, Walmart shortened its hiring process from two weeks to 24 hours, allowed candidates to apply with a text message, and worked with more than 70 companies to find workers displaced by furloughs in hard-hit industries, such as restaurants and hotels. As for the new employees, Morris said hiring will be across Walmart's stores, clubs, fulfillment and distribution centers, and that the hires will primarily be temporary associates, but some will convert to permanent roles.

Total Retail's Take: Make no mistake about it, much of the retail world has seen a rapid downturn since the coronavirus outbreak. However, retailers that sell essential items, such as grocery stores and delivery services, are seeing a surge in sales, and in some ways keeping the economy going. In addition to Walmart, other retailers deemed essential such as Kroger, Dollar General, and Amazon.com have listed thousands of job openings for sales associates, distribution workers, and delivery drivers, among others over the past weeks. The jobs — many of which are available immediately and require no background experience — are meant to alleviate overrun stores and warehouses dealing with an influx of orders from panicked Americans stocking up on items like canned goods and toilet paper.