Walmart just figured out how to solve the driver shortage: Pay drivers more

Walmart appears to have cracked the code to hiring and retaining hundreds of new truck drivers in amid a ‘driver shortage’ — and their revolutionary new plan starts with paying them more money.

Though Walmart already offers some of the highest pay in the trucking industry, the company says that they’ll be offering a straightforward per mile pay increase to try to meet their goal of hiring nearly 1000 new drivers this year.

On January 23, Walmart announced that starting in February, they’ll be increasing driver pay by one cent per mile to a total of nearly 89 cents per mile. The company says that this per-mile increase coupled with an extra $1 for every arrival means that the average pay for first year drivers will increase from $86,000 to $87,500.

This pay increase along with 21 days of paid vacation and the guarantee of a stable work schedule sets a new industry standard for how trucking companies can attract and retain drivers.

Walmart has plans to use the pay increase to attract 900 new drivers into their private fleet in 2019.

In addition to increasing driver pay, Walmart is also modifying how it hires drivers.

The company has shifted from a more stringent single day hiring process to a days-long hiring event during which new drivers work with veteran Walmart truckers to hone their skills and perfect their processes, the company has been able to significantly increase the number of drivers who qualify to join the team.

Truck drivers looking to join the Walmart team must have 30 months of experience and a clean safety record for the past three years. If you are interested in joining Walmart’s private fleet, you can click here for more information.