Walmart wants to hire more truck drivers, and they’re increasing pay to do it

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Walmart is looking to grow its trucking fleet by 900 drivers in 2019. Wednesday, the company announced an increase in driver wages in order to attract the best of the best. According to company, the increase will provide Walmart drivers an opportunity to earn an average of $87,500 in their first year of employment with an all-in rate of nearly 89 cents per mile.

To drive for Walmart, a commercial driver must have at least 30 months of full-time experience with no serious traffic violations in the last three years. Applications are now being accepted at drive4walmart.com.

Beginning in February, drivers will receive a per mile increase of $0.01 and a 50-cent increase in activity pay for arrive and arrive/drop occurrences. That means Walmart drivers will now be paid up to $1 every time they arrive at their destination and drop a trailer.

“Truck drivers are a critical part of our team here at Walmart and have been since Sam Walton started the private truck fleet in the 1970s,” said Greg Smith, executive vice president of Walmart U.S. Supply Chain. “Our professional drivers are part of what makes Walmart so special. This wage increase reflects the importance of our private fleet and our commitment to recruiting and retaining the best drivers in the industry.”

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 Walmart and Sam’s Club’s 4,700 locations across the nation. Walmart drivers are among the most experienced as well.