Walmart boosting pay for in-house truckers up to $110,000 in a tight job market
Walmart is ramping up pay for its truckers as it seeks to shore up staffing amid a nationwide rush to hire drivers.
In-house truck drivers will now be able to earn between $95,000 and $110,000 in their first year at the company, a Walmart spokeswoman said Thursday. At the high end, that’s 26% higher than the previous average pay for newly hired drivers. Veterans of the Walmart Private Fleet can earn even more, the company said in a statement.
Recruiters dangle fat pay increases and sign-on bonuses, but a big rig driver still gets little respect. It’s a ‘gold prison,’ says one.
Walmart is boosting efforts to attract and retain truckers as employers across the country struggle to keep their 18-wheelers rolling. The U.S. has a shortage of 80,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Assns. Walmart, which employs about 12,000 truck drivers, had to hire 7,000 over the last two years, including a record 4,500 in 2021, the spokeswoman said.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer also touted a training effort for employees who want to become drivers. Employees in Dover, Delaware, and Dallas have earned commercial driver’s licenses over the course of the 12-week program, Walmart said in the statement.
Employers in California and the U.S. are scrambling to fill jobs as the dust from the pandemic begins to settle. Just don’t call it a labor shortage.
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