Walmart To Pay Up To $110,000 For Long-Haul Drivers

In an effort to attract talent in an increasingly tight labor market, Walmart has raised pay for long-haul truck drivers, offering starting salaries of up to $110,000 with the ability to earn more based on both tenure and location.

The company will also be enabling supply chain associates in Delaware and Texas to earn commercial driver’s licenses and become Walmart drivers through a three-month training program.

Drivers who choose to participate in the program and graduate are not required to work for Walmart for any particular amount of time or mandated to repay the company for the costs if they quit. They will also be paid hourly while they train.

The move to provide six-figure salaries and a 12-week training program is Walmart’s latest effort to recruit and retain its private fleet of about 12,000 drivers.

According to company spokesperson Anne Hatfield, the average Walmart driver previously made $87,500 in their first year.

Hatfield also noted that 17 drivers in Sanger, Texas, Dover and Delaware have already graduated from the training program, with Walmart picking up the cost of earning a commercial driver’s license, ranging from $4,000 to $5,000.

Through the initiative, which is currently open only to supply chain associates at or near the Sanger or Dover facilities, Walmart hopes to train between 400 and 800 new drivers. The company plans to soon expand the program to all company associates.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on April 11, 2022.