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Walmart Offering New Truck Drivers Up To $110,000 Amid Trucker Shortage

Walmart is upping the ante for new truck drivers amid a shortage happening right now. You can get up to $110,000 from the company. Walmart announced Thursday that it’s raising pay for long-haul truck drivers and launching a new program to train the next generation.

What To Know

  • Walmart is offering new truck drivers up to $110,000 in salary
  • The company is looking to shore up shortages for its trucking fleet
  • Walmart also has started a program to help people earn their CDL

Walmart Looks To Shore Up Truckers That Are Needed In Company

All of this is being done to help the company replenish store shelves and warehouses across the country. Walmart did say that truck drivers will now make between $95,000 and $110,000 in their first year with the company. It did not provide a current salary range for a new truck driver at Walmart. The company did say that truckers have made an average of $87,500 in their first year.

It also has started a 12-week program in Sanger, Texas, and Dover, Del. People can earn a commercial driver’s license and join Walmart’s fleet. The company will cover the cost of earning a license, which can run between $4,000 and $5,000, said company spokeswoman Anne Hatfield. We get more from CNBC.

The program will initially be open to only supply chain associates who are near the two training locations, Hatfield said. In the future, she said all Walmart employees will be able to apply for the program. She said the company hopes to train between 400 and 800 new drivers this year.

Business Model Has Been Changing To More Online Work

Walmart, the country’s largest private employer with 1.6 million workers, is looking for more truck drivers. Why? The growth of e-commerce and online business has changed its business and just complicates its supply chain. It is also a tight market for trucking labor.

So, the shortage of truck drivers reached an all-time high of more than 80,000 workers last year, according to the American Trucking Associations trade group. The lack of workers stemmed from factors like long hours of long-haul trips. Toss in the older average age of current drivers and a small number of women in the industry. During the pandemic, some truck drivers left the industry and fewer people went through training programs. They also faced problems at the gas pump, too.

Walmart has about 12,000 truck drivers in its workforce. The company hired 4,500 truck drivers in 2021, which is a larger number than any time in its history, a spokeswoman said. More of Walmart’s sales shifted online during the pandemic as people got groceries delivered to the home or did curbside pickup.