While the Americans are losing millions of jobs over the last few weeks, Walmart is on a hiring spree looking to hire 150,000 employees on a temporary basis. Meanwhile, WMT stock remains practically at the same level.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
3 mins read
Swimming against the tide of massive job losses, American retail giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is on a hiring spree. As per CNBC, Walmart has recently hired over 100,000 employees to keep up with the massive demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Walmart (WMT) stock hasn’t reacted to this news. Yesterday, the price was just 0.033% down when the market closed. As a result, WMT stock was trading at $121.80. After hours, Walmart (WMT) went up 0.23% and reached $122.08. The market cap is $344.97 billion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed governments all across the globe to initiate lockdown to control the spread. As a result, many businesses have been finding it difficult to sustain this period of no trade. However, the retail and FMCG sector which caters to essential items has seen a massive surge in consumer demand.
Retail giants like Walmart have seen long queues of people outside their facilities. Moreover, with panic levels going high, consumers are buying much higher than normal for essential commodities like food, toilet papers, and other medical supplies.
Walmart said that with more Americans staying at home, it has seen massive demand for beard trimmers, hair colors, and sewing machines. Besides, the retail giant is also working hard to keep with the massive demand for toilet paper. The company’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett, said that the recent hiring is to help them fulfill the demand for online orders.
Last month on March 19, Walmart said that it would be filling 150,000 positions. Bartlett is confident that they would easily achieve this milestone and might even need more workers. However, he has said that a large majority of these positions are temporary. But he adds that this will help Americans stay afloat amidst staggering job losses in the country. Barlett said:
“People are keeping their eye on the horizon to see when industry and when the economy will crank back up. But in the meantime, they’re providing a critical service, and we welcome them with open arms.”
As Americans prepare to buy more household items and grocery items, Walmart is witnessing a strong increase in sales. While many businesses remain closed in the situation of lockdown, Walmart is one of the essential businesses staying open. Other retail stores like Costco Wholesale and Walgreens said that they have witnessed a sudden drop in the footfall.
While many customers rushed to the store up to mid-March for stacking up supplies, the number declined by March-end. This is because of the government’s tightening regulations of social distancing. As a result, these stores could see their profits declining.
On the other hand, Barlett said that Walmart is seeing sustained demand for all the essential items. Besides the retailer is also seeing an interesting shift in consumer purchases these days.
“All the do-it-yourself types of items like hair coloring and beard trimmers are selling quite well. Sewing machines are flying off the shelf as well because a lot of people are selling and making their own masks at their house,” added he.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
