Walmart Celebrates Veterans Welcome Home Commitment; Achieves Goal of 250,000 Veteran Associates Hired
July 01 2020 - 12:01AM
Business Wire
Walmart announces more than 265,000 hires,
Company prepares for the next chapter in prioritizing veteran
associates
When Jessica Huntsman returned to civilian life after almost a
decade of service in the U.S. Army, she found it more challenging
finding a job than she’d expected.
“I put in so many applications when I left, but no one wanted to
take a look,” she said. “I asked myself, ‘I check all of these
boxes, why does no one want to hire me?’”
Huntsman was hired as a developmental store manager in 2010, and
she’s had a very successful career since. Now, she works at the
Walmart Home Office in Bentonville supporting the company’s U.S.
business.
Huntsman is one of thousands of veterans who has found a home
with Walmart since it introduced the Veterans Welcome Home
Commitment (VWHC) in 2013, setting its goal of hiring 250,000 new
veteran associates by 2020.
Today, Walmart announced it reached the hiring goal with more
than 265,000 veteran associate hires. Additionally, more than
44,000 of those associates have been promoted to roles with higher
pay and greater responsibility at Walmart and Sam’s Club.
“We’re forever grateful to our veterans for their service, and
it’s an honor to offer them opportunities at Walmart,” said Doug
McMillon, President and CEO, Walmart Inc. “To reach this goal so
quickly says a lot about our company as a great place to work and
build a career. I’m proud of the commitment we’ve made to veterans
and their families, and I’m thrilled that so many have decided to
join us. They are critical to helping us achieve a more diverse and
inclusive future.”
The company originally passed the 250,000 hires milestone four
months ago. However, due to the impact of COVID-19 across the
country, the decision was made to wait for a more appropriate time
to make the announcement.
First announced on Memorial Day 2013, the VWHC guaranteed a job
offer to any eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veteran. The
commitment came at a time when veteran unemployment was at an
all-time high, and Walmart leadership recognized the important
skills and abilities veterans brought to the workforce as well as
the opportunity to ease their transition back to civilian life.
On Veterans Day 2018, recognizing the need to broaden employment
opportunities for military families, Walmart introduced the
Military Spouses Career Connection. Since then, the company has
hired more than 31,000 associates through this program and
continues offering any military spouse hiring preference when
applying for a job.
“We’re proud of our ability to present opportunities to the
talented service members who’ve honorably served our country,” said
Brynt Parmeter, senior director for Walmart Military Programs.
“This is such an important time for us. Our company is committed
to building relationships across this community to advance and
improve both economic opportunity and overall well-being.
“Now, as we look ahead, we will find new ways to help veterans
and military spouses find meaningful futures through employment,
entrepreneurship, learning, and health and wellness initiatives,”
he added.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have a long history of
supporting veterans, service members and their families. Since
2011, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have invested more than
$40 million in programs that support job training, education and
innovative public/private community-based initiatives for veterans
and military families.
For more information about Walmart’s commitment to veterans,
service members and military families, please visit:
http://www.walmartcareerswithamission.com/ or
http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/veterans-military-families/
and follow Walmart on Twitter @WalmartToday and @WalmartOrg.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world
save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail
stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over
265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,500 stores
under 56 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With
fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2
million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in
sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.
Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting
http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at
http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/walmart.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200630006027/en/
Charles Crowson, Walmart 1-800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter
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