"These drivers are professionals. Trucking affects every aspect of our economy. Everything you eat, touch, wear comes to you via truck." — Alix Miller, president, and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association
Mega retailer Walmart will pay its 12,000 long-haul truck drivers a starting wage of $95,000 to $110,000 to replenish the ranks of drivers.
With beginning pay of more than $87,500, drivers at the largest retailer in the U.S. were already among the most competitive in the country.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is much higher than the national median of $47,130 and the highest 10% of earners making around $69,400.
In a blog post from senior vice president of transportation Fernando Cortes and senior vice president of supply chain people Karisa Sprague, the Walmart executives wrote that factors like tenure and location might result in even higher pay for drivers who have been with them for more than a year.
"We're proud to announce pay raises to ensure Walmart remains one of the best companies in the world to drive for.” — Karisa Sprague, Walmart's senior vice president for supply chain Human Resources, stated in a company statement.
Aside from providing financial incentives to present and potential drivers, Walmart has also developed a "Private Fleet Development Program" to create a pipeline between supply-chain employment and trucking jobs.
New drivers will go through a 12-week training program taught by current drivers of the organization in Dallas, Texas, and Dover, Delaware, where they will earn their DCL and begin working for the corporation.
According to the American Trucking Associations trade organization, the country's truck driver shortage reached an all-time high of more than 80,000 workers last year. According to the trade union, the shortage of workers is due to various issues, including the long hours of long-haul journeys, the older average age of present drivers, and the low proportion of women in the business.
According to the report, the Covid pandemic intensified the shortage by causing some truck drivers to leave the profession and fewer individuals to enroll in training programs.
According to a Walmart spokeswoman, the company hopes to train 400 to 800 additional drivers this year. The in-house program saves prospective truck drivers money on commercial driver training, which may cost between $4,000 and $5,000 if done independently.
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