Walmart Rolls Back Driver Shortage Concern

Even the mighty Walmart is not immune from the challenges of recruiting and retaining qualified drivers.

To combat the driver shortage, Walmart is giving its drivers a $0.01 per-mile increase and a 50­-cent increase in activity pay for arrive and arrive/drop occurrences. That means Walmart drivers will now be paid up to one dollar every time they arrive at their destination and drop a trailer.

With this increase, Walmart drivers can earn an average of $87,500 in their first year of employment with an all-­in rate of nearly 89 cents per mile. Furthermore, in the Northeast region, Walmart is offering a 5-percent premium on mileage and eight different activities.

The company also dramatically revamped its hiring and onboarding program, shortening the application and onboarding time by more than 50 percent.

Each year, Walmart’s 8,000 drivers travel more than 700 million miles and deliver millions of cases of merchandise to 4,700 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations across the nation. To drive for Walmart, a commercial driver must have at least 30 months of full­-time experience with no serious traffic violations in the past three years.