Walmart looking to hire some 50,000 US workers this quarter

Walmart, the largest employer in the United States, is looking to add nearly 50,000 workers to its workforce by the end of April. 

The retailer told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that it is seeking to hit its hiring mark by the end of the current fiscal quarter in April, adding that it aims to add employees to business areas such as health and wellness and advertising. 

Walmart’s chief people officer, Donna Morris, said the company’s current goal is to revamp its image for those who want to seek long-term employment with the company. 

“People are reassessing their lives, and we want to be in consideration when people are determining where they want to go and where they want to stay,” Morris told the Journal. 

Currently, the Arkansas-based company has a total of 3.9 million employees around the world. 

The retail giant previously added up to 100,000 jobs to their worldwide workforce earlier in January, the Journal noted.

Walmart hired 5,500 pharmacists and pharmacy managers last year and recently hired 4,500 new truck drivers to alleviate ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks and bolster its e-commerce business.

The company also increased its starting minimum wage to $12 per hour, adding it has reduced the time it takes for an hourly worker to be hired from a few weeks to 24 hours. 

Morris added that the company ramped up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to keep shelves stocked and meet rising demand for households goods, the Journal noted.