Walmart Is Training Its Own Fleet of Truck Drivers—And Touting Big First-Year Pay

Amid a nationwide truck-driver shortage, Walmart announced April 7 that it has started training supply-chain associates to be commercial truck drivers for the company's private fleet.

And to entice prospective drivers, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant also said it's increasing trucker pay: Drivers can now earn as much as $110,000 in their first year with the company, Walmart stated.

"There’s never been a better time to join our fleet," Fernando Cortes, SVP of transportation for Walmart, and Karisa Sprague, SVP of supply-chain HR for Walmart, wrote in a blog post on the company's corporate website, adding that the newly announced investments in pay and training "build on multiple recent driver bonuses and improved schedules that enable drivers to spend more time at home."

Citing data from Glassdoor, Walmart said its pay bump means that first-year drivers can make nearly twice the average salary of around $56,500 for long-haul drivers. Longer-serving drivers can earn even more, depending on tenure and location, the company added.

The new Walmart Private Fleet Development Program, launched in Dallas and in Dover, Del., is training supply-chain employees through a 12-week program that offers participants the chance to earn their commercial driver's license (CDL) and become full-time Walmart drivers. 

"With a massive training infrastructure already built" through Walmart's Live Better U continuing-education offering and the company's national network of career-development academies, Cortes and Sprague wrote, "the Walmart learning ecosystem stood ready to help launch a driver pipeline program." Launching the driver training program was a matter of sourcing teachers, they stated: an issue addressed by training current Walmart drivers through Walmart Academies to become Certified Driver Trainers. 

Associates who earn their CDL through the Private Fleet Development Program also graduate with "a dedicated mentor to help them smoothly transition into their new role," according to the company.

In September, Walmart announced plans to hire 20,000 supply-chain associates for permanent roles in the company's Walmart and Sam's Club transportation offices, distribution centers and fulfillment centers. The company at the time touted that its average wage for its supply-chain workers stood at $20.37 an hour.

See also: Grocery Hiring Accelerated as Unemployment Rate Fell to 3.6% in March
Walmart Goes Fully Driverless for Middle Mile in Arkansas