As the holiday season approaches, Walmart revealed on Wednesday that it will be employing 40,000 seasonal and full-time employees.
In addition to 1,500 full-time truck drivers, the corporation is reportedly employing seasonal retail staffers, customer support representatives, and other positions. This year, Walmart has been expanding its fleet of private trucks, raising the maximum first-year salary to $110,000 in April.
Current employees will be allowed to take up additional holiday shifts for the in-store positions, and then Walmart will enlist more temporary employees as required. Three pay increases for these associate positions were made last year, raising the hourly average to $16.40. Walmart raised the average hourly wage for pharmacy employees to $20 this year, pushing the national average above the $17 mark.
The number of seasonal hires is lower than it was the previous year, when Walmart hired 150,000 largely full-time, permanent associates in addition to 20,000 supply chain personnel to aid with logistical bottlenecks.
More than 50% of the company’s seasonal U.S. employees will move into part- or full-time positions in the coming year, according to the company.
Expectations for the important shopping season are low; according to some projections, inflation-adjusted sales growth will only increase by 1% to 3%. Walmart and other retailers have been battling excess inventory and sharp markdowns for the most of the year.