Walmart says it's hiring about 5,000 people a day as it tries to keep up with surging demand and the flood of customers amid the coronavirus pandemic

Hayley Peterson

March 31, 2020 1:49 PM

Walmart has hired 50,000 employees since March 19, when the company announced a hiring push to meet surging demand from the coronavirus pandemic.

Walmart

Walmart originally said it planned to add 150,000 employees through the end of May. The company said Tuesday that it "may easily surpass that number."
Amazon also recently launched a hiring push and said it received 50,000 applications in the 24 hours after announcing its plans.
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Walmart said Tuesday that the company is hiring roughly 5,000 people a day as it races to keep up with demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The company has hired nearly 50,000 new workers since March 19, when Walmart announced plans to add 150,000 employees through the end of May, according to Dan Bartlett, Walmart's executive vice president of corporate affairs.

"We put the 150,000 out there," Bartlett said Tuesday on a call with reporters, referring to the hiring target. "We may easily surpass that number ... We're at a pretty good clip right now."

The roles Walmart is hiring for will initially be temporary, but many will convert to permanent roles over time.

As it ramps up its staff, Walmart has sped up hiring for key roles including cashiers and stockers by cutting the application process from an average of two weeks to 24 hours.

Walmart has shifted from in-person interviews to phone screenings to help speed up the hiring process for stores.

"Once we have the application, the store calls the candidate for pre-screen, and if the candidate meets the expectations of the store, a verbal job offer is provided during the pre-screen call," a Walmart spokesperson said.

If the verbal offer is accepted, Walmart will email the candidate a job offer confirmation and background check details.

Walmart lists open roles and online applications on its jobs site .

Amazon gets 50,000 applications in a single day

Amazon also recently announced a hiring push , saying it planned to add 100,000 employees.

Amazon spokesperson Jay Carney told CNN on Sunday that the company recieved 50,000 applications in the first 24 hours after announcing its hiring push.

The company has not said how many employees it has hired since then. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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