Walmart, 7-Eleven, and Dollar Tree Seek Extra Coronavirus Hires

Amazon isn’t the only retailer in need of more workers to meet coronavirus demands. Since Friday, a group of “essential” retailers has posted nearly enough job listings to hire all of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Walmart,already the nation’s largest private employer,said it plans to hire 150,000 associates at stores and distribution and fulfillment centers by May.

• New applicants will undergo a SparkNotes interview: The two-week hiring cycle will be shortened to 24 hours.
• The reason, per CEO Doug McMillon: “We know millions of Americans who are usually employed at this time are temporarily out of work, and at the same time we’re currently seeing strong demand.”

Also hiring: Dollar Tree with 25,000 openings, 7-Eleven with up to 20,000 openings, and Shipt with openings in the low thousands.

My two cents: All these openings put available workers in a bind. Open jobs are a welcome salve for the millions who are projected to be soon out of work. But frontline retail positions put workers at risk of exposure to the virus.