Many retail stores around the United States — such as Walmart, Dollar General, and Aldi — are striving to hire a mass amount of workers before the holiday season begins. As the nation continues to deal with a labor shortage, as well as COVIE-19 case surges because of the Delta variant, many retail companies are looking to try to keep clear of potential problems during the holiday season at the end of the year.
Already, analysts are warning companies and consumers that global supply chain issues could hamper sales, holiday packages from arriving on time, and more. Walmart recently announced that it plans on hiring about 20,000 supply chain workers before the holiday season, one of the busiest times of the year, officially begins. These supply chain jobs include part-time and full-time jobs at about 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations and workplaces. Hirings will also occur at fulfillment centers, transportation offices, and distribution centers to potentially steer clear of supply chain issues.
Walmart isn’t the only retail company looking ahead and trying to keep holiday season problems at bay. Last month, Aldi (a grocery food store chain) announced that it planned on hiring about 20,000 workers at its stores and distribution centers. The grocery store food chain also revealed that it would raise the wages for its employees, something that has become much more common this year amid the nationwide labor shortage.
Dollar General is also looking to hire more workers before the holiday season — and is also attempting to sway people to work for them. The company is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus to new truck drivers as it attempts to work out its supply chain issues. Dollar General has also announced mass hirings nationwide at its stores and its different distribution centers.
Dollar General’s rival Dollar Tree is also offering a sign-on bonus, set at $1,000 for those who work in its distribution centers. Amazon is yet another major corporation announcing its plans to hire more workers, as the company has announced its intent to hire 55,000 new workers to ensure it can properly keep up with consumer demand.
Retail companies and large corporations are attempting to start the mass hiring now, rather than wait until right before the holiday season begins. Many companies are worried that they will not have enough workers — especially at their distribution centers — when the holiday season begins. Already, there are so many global supply chain shortages affecting different industries. This labor shortage could continue to negatively impact how businesses conduct their business.
On top of all this, companies are also struggling to properly deal with an increase in freight costs, as well as container ship shortages. For many businesses, stock inventories have lessened over the last few months, as it has taken weeks and even months to properly stock up their inventory. As a result, some businesses have already come out and revealed that this holiday season may experience a toy shortage at the end of the year.
