Walmart to convert majority of US hourly jobs to full-time positions

Walmart on Wednesday said it plans to convert the majority of its U.S. hourly jobs to full-time positions by the end of fiscal 2021 as part of its efforts to promote job stability and retain workers. 

Drew Holler, senior vice president of Walmart’s U.S. People Operations, outlined the plans in a blog post, writing that two-thirds of the Walmart roles that are currently hourly will eventually be “full-time with consistent schedules from week to week.” 

“We’re uniquely positioned to offer a combination of stability and room for growth that few others can match,” Holler wrote. “We are prioritizing consistent schedules, skills training and new pathways for growth, so all jobs at Walmart can lead to careers.” 

He went on to say that Walmart knows “offering more full-time opportunities along with skills, training and equipping associates with tools to make work easier will help us continue to attract and retain top talent.” 

Walmart, which has 1.6 million employees in the U.S., had about 53 percent of its hourly workforce holding full-time positions in 2016, Holler said. 

The top executive added that the new goal announced Wednesday follows in the line of Walmart’s distribution and fulfillment centers, which have more than 80 percent of their workers employed full-time. 

“Reaching the two-thirds mark by the end of the year means we will have approximately 100,000 more full-time positions than we did five years ago – representing meaningful investments in our associates’ pay, hours and stability,” Holler said. 

Walmart, one of few retailers that saw business growth amid the coronavirus pandemic with the boost of online sales, has over the past year continued to implement operational changes in hopes of maintaining a stable workforce to keep up with consumer demand. 

In February, the retail giant announced that it would be raising its hourly wages for 425,000 employees across the country to between $13-$19 an hour, depending on location. 

Walmart CEO and President John Furner said that the company in the past year has also introduced special COVID-19 bonuses, raised pay for 165,000 leadership roles and restructured a “team-based model of working in our stores.” 

“Whatever your role, know that we’ll continue to support and invest in you,” Furner said in a February statement to employees.