Walmart plans to hire 150,000 workers as virus spreads in US

TIL Desk/Business/San Francisco/ Walmart plans to hire 150,000 people to meet increased demand during the coronavirus crisis and will pay out 365 million in bonuses, the US retail giant said.

“These roles will be temporary at first, but many will convert to permanent roles over time,” it said. The firm added it would pay 300 bonuses to full-time employees and 150 to those part-time.

Walmart said Thursday it wanted to reward them “for their hard work and dedication to serving customers in a time of an unprecedented national health crisis.” It also plans to speed up payment of the next quarterly bonus payments, which will take its payout to nearly 550 million.

The hiring drive comes as travel restrictions and lockdown measures in various US states and cities to curb the spread of the virus have led people to stock up on basic foodstuffs and order more online.