Walmart To Add 60,000 Seasonal Workers, 1,245 Of Those In Arkansas

Walmart will hire 60,000 workers to help the retailer through the holiday shopping cycle, with 1,245 of those short-term hires to be in Arkansas, the company announced Thursday (Sept. 17) with a statement from Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer Judith McKenna.

The seasonal workers will earn “at least $9 an hour,” noted Mckenna, and will help the retailer service online orders picked up at stores and allow more registers to be open.

“Walmart will have more associates in our stores working more hours this season, all with a focus on providing service and convenience to our customers. We will continue our ‘Checkout Promise’ by having more registers open during peak shopping times, helping customers save time by getting through our lines quicker,” McKenna noted.

Part of the seasonal shift includes the addition of department managers in more than 3,500 stores to assist with online order pickup. The company also said the seasonal employment also introduces people to a career with Walmart.

“We know some of these hires are looking for a short-term opportunity to earn extra Christmas money, but for many, this could be the start of a career. In fact we have hundreds of store managers who started with the company as a seasonal associate. Last year, more than half of our seasonal associates stayed with Walmart in a permanent role after the holidays,” McKenna wrote.

The company previously announced that around 8,000 more department managers are are being employed in supercenters to better control inventory and help with customer service. A complete retraining and de-cluttering in the retailer’s back room, particularly the supercenters, is also underway because management says that is where shrink and other inventory issues arise when products are not marked down to sell.

In February, Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon made what he called a bold move to invest $1 billion to raise the pay of 500,000 of the lowest paid Wal-Mart employees. McMillon and Greg Foran, CEO of Walmart U.S., also vowed to add lower level managers back to its 4,500 stores.

More workers and higher wages have squeezed margins for the company. On Aug. 18, Wal-Mart reported second quarter net income of $3.475 billion, 15% below the same period in 2014 and well below the consensus of analyst estimates. Total quarterly revenue was $120.229 billion, just ahead of the $120.125 billion during the same quarter of 2014. Operating income during the quarter at Walmart U.S. was $4.819 billion, down 8.2%

Lower margins on U.S. sales and ongoing investments in wages and e-commerce not only hit the bottom line, but caused executives with the retailer to lower earnings guidance for the rest of the year.