Walmart is Raising Truckers’ Pay to Mitigate Driver Shortage

Big-box retail giant Walmart has announced that the company is raising truckers’ pay and is starting a training program for drivers.

The company relies on truckers to help replensih its stores and warehouses and is trying to expand the pipeline of truck drivers amid the national shortage.

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.

Walmart said truck drivers will now make between $95,000 and $110,000 in their first year with Walmart. 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 and $5,000, said company spokeswoman Anne Hatfield.

The program will first 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 posted about the pay increase and training program Thursday morning on its corporate website. It has about 12,000 truck drivers in its workforce. The company hired 4,500 truck drivers in 2021, a larger number than any time in its history, a spokeswoman said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.