By Sarah Nassauer and Jaewon Kang
Walmart Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and CVS Health Corp. are among
about a dozen large companies looking to hire nearly 500,000
Americans in coming weeks, a spree that would mark a major shift of
the U.S. workforce from smaller businesses and others that have cut
staff to survive the coronavirus.
The companies are managing a surge in demand for food and other
household products that have taxed their stores and warehouses. At
the same time, they are seeking to lure hourly workers to
front-line or logistics jobs where they face risks of being near
co-workers or consumers who could have been exposed to the deadly
respiratory virus.
"There are too many customers for our staffing to handle most of
the time," said Cody Clark, who works at Brookshire's Food &
Pharmacy in Tyler, Texas. Ms. Clark, 22 years old, said she has
been nervous about going to the store. "Customers come in and get
frustrated whenever we don't have something. They don't understand
we're putting ourselves out there."
Many of the big chains have started offering enhanced benefits,
such as paid sick time and child-care services, even for temporary
or part-time workers. They have also temporarily boosted their
hourly wages or promised cash bonuses for the people who run cash
registers, unload trucks or work in e-commerce warehouses.
Separately, Instacart Inc., a grocery-delivery company, said
Monday it plans to add 300,000 workers over the next three months,
more than doubling the size of its current workforce of about
200,000. As part of the effort, the closely held company is looking
to bring on 54,000 workers in California and 27,000 in New York.
Instacart shoppers, who fill grocery orders for customers, are
independent contractors who get paid per delivery.
In recent weeks, Instacart's number of orders has more than
doubled, and the size of its orders from the year prior has
increased by 15%. The company also started offering up to 14 days
of pay for its shoppers affected by Covid-19 or placed in mandatory
quarantine.
The coronavirus has infected more than 32,000 Americans,
prompting California, New York, Illinois and other states to order
nonessential businesses to close and residents to limit their
travel. Unemployment claims have surged in March as many small
restaurants and retailers have shut their doors or scaled back.
Thousands of retail stores from Macy's Inc. to Best Buy Co. have
temporarily closed, though they continue to handle online orders
and pay workers for two weeks. Marriott International Inc. plans to
furlough tens of thousands of workers. But grocers and other
essential stores are open and looking to poach those staff and
others who have been dislocated.
Big restaurant chains are looking to add to their fleet of
delivery drivers as they shut dining rooms and more people order
takeout or home delivery. On Monday, Pizza Hut said it was looking
to fill 30,000 U.S. jobs and Papa John's International Inc. said it
is looking to add up to 20,000 staff. Domino's Pizza Inc. said last
week it would hire more than 10,000.
Walmart, the biggest U.S. private employer, is trying to make
the biggest push. It plans to hire 150,000 additional people and
has enhanced its paid sick-time policy for all its store and
warehouse workers. It is speeding its hiring process from a typical
two-week process to 24 hours.
Walmart, which employs around 1.5 million people in the U.S.,
also said it would pay special cash bonuses totaling $550 million
to its hourly workers and its e-commerce warehouses will receive a
$2-an-hour increase through late May.
"It's not so much about filling a gap, but there is just so much
demand, " said Walmart's executive vice president of public
affairs, Dan Bartlett, on a call with reporters last week. Absences
are higher than a typical flu season, he said, but not at a level
that would cause alarm.
Amazon was the first big employer to move, as online orders
surged. Last week, Amazon said it would hire 100,000 workers in the
U.S. and raise wages by about $2 an hour for hourly employees in
several countries. The company also recently began to offer paid
time off to part-time workers in warehouses and its logistics
network. Target Corp. also has raised wages for its hourly workers
by $2 an hour and added paid leave for up to 30 days for older and
pregnant workers.
Grocers too have been trying to keep up with surging demand for
food. Kroger Co., the nation's biggest supermarket chain, said it
wants to hire 10,000 new workers at stores, manufacturing plants
and distribution centers. Albertsons Cos., the second-biggest
supermarket chain, said it plans to hire about 30,000 store and
delivery staffers across the country. Publix Super Markets Inc.
said it expects to hire at least 2,000 store and warehouse workers
by the end of March.
Some grocers are implementing paid sick leave as the coronavirus
spreads and their workers face more risks. Kroger has extended paid
time off for workers who are self-isolating or have symptoms, in
addition to those diagnosed with Covid-19 and those placed under
mandatory quarantine.
Other big U.S. employers have begun offering paid sick time,
though some limit it to those who are diagnosed with Covid-19.
United Parcel Service Inc. agreed last week to provide nearly
300,000 unionized workers up to 10 days of paid leave if they are
diagnosed with the virus or are required to be quarantined. The
agreement came after more than 15,000 UPS workers signed a petition
urging UPS to provide paid sick leave and to more thoroughly
sanitize workplaces.
Similarly, FedEx Corp. has enhanced sick pay recently and is
offering up to 14 days pay or guaranteed minimum pay for workers
who have been diagnosed with the virus or placed under a
medically-required quarantine, a spokeswoman said.
--Sharon Terlep and Ruth Bender contributed to this article.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com and Jaewon
Kang at jaewon.kang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2020 20:40 ET (00:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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