Walmart Speeds Up Application Process In Hiring Drive Amid Coronavirus

As it works to maintain a supply of products on its shelves and keep its checkouts manned over the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart has brought on 25,000 new workers and provided thousands with offers in the inaugural week of a hiring drive. The company has reduced its hiring procedure timeline from as much as two weeks to as short as three hours by doing away with written job offers and formal interviews, Bloomberg reported.

“We’re seeing a surge in applications,” Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of corporate affairs, told the news outlet. “The stores are able to engage directly at the ground level.” Those looking for positions are said to include college and high school students as well as those who have lost their hotel and restaurant positions. 

Last week, Walmart promised to bring 150,000 hourly workers on board due to a quick economic shift because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Retailers such as Amazon and Walmart are increasing their ranks to keep pace with increased traffic, as service industries let go of large number of workers due to falling demand.

Bartlett also noted that the retailer is making quicker determinations when it comes to operations beyond a quickened hiring process. The company, for its part, has seen is supply chain slightly rebalance as it deals with increased demand for toilet paper, food and other everyday products.

In separate news, Walmart has said it would pay nearly $550 million in bonuses to hourly workers to honor staffers who are keeping merchandise stocked on shelves as customers visit stores en masse. The retailer has seen a rise in sales as shoppers buy toilet paper, hand sanitizer, food and other products as they prepare to stay in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

The biggest grocery in the nation said the special bonuses would be more than $365 million overall. Full-time hourly associates will receive a $300 bonus, while part-time hourly associates would get $150.