Walmart says it is raising truckers' pay and starting a training program as it grapples with driver shortage

Walmart said Thursday that it is raising pay for long-haul truck drivers and launching a new program to train the next generation, as it seeks the staffing it relies on to replenish store shelves and warehouses across the country.

The retailer said truck drivers will now make up to $110,000 in their first year with Walmart, which the company said will raise their average pay. The company did not provide the current salary range for a new truck driver at Walmart, but said they have made an average of $87,500 in their first year.

Walmart has also started a 12-week program in Sanger, Texas and in Dover, Delaware, where people can earn a commercial driver’s license and join Walmart’s fleet. It will cover the cost of earning a license, which can run between $4,000 to $5,000, said company spokeswoman Anne Hatfield.

The program will initially be open to only supply chain associates who are near the two training locations, Hatfield said. In the future, she said all Walmart employees will be able to apply for the program. She said the company hopes to train between 400 and 800 new drivers this year.

Walmart, the country’s largest private employer with 1.6 million workers, is ramping up recruiting efforts for truck drivers as the growth of e-commerce changes its business and complicates its supply chain. It is also a tight market for trucking labor.

The shortage of truck drivers in the U.S. hit an all-time high of over 80,000 workers last year, according to the American Trucking Associations trade group. The lack of workers has stemmed from several factors, according to the trade group, including the grueling hours of long-haul trips, the older average age of current drivers and the small number of women in the industry. The pandemic exacerbated the shortage, it said, as some truck drivers left the industry and fewer people went through training programs.

Walmart posted about the pay bump and training program on its corporate website on Thursday morning. It has about 12,000 truck drivers in its workforce. The company hired 4,500 truck drivers, a larger number than any time in its history, a spokeswoman said. 

During the pandemic, more of Walmart’s sales have shifted online as people got groceries delivered to the home or retrieved online orders by curbside pickup. U.S. e-commerce sales rose 11% in the last full fiscal year, ended Jan. 31. They jumped 90% on a two-year basis.

For Walmart and other retailers, soaring online sales have shaken up the cadence of business and prompted a race to deliver packages quickly and keep items in stock at stores.