‘Every Day Is Frightening’: Working For Walmart Amid Covid-19 Lockdown For Workers, Many Without Benefits
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Updated at 7:20 p.m. ET
“You need a job, so do I,” was how Walmart CEO Doug McMillon responded when he was asked by a reporter recently why the retailer was hiring so many people to handle the coronavirus crisis in his stores across the country, including inside its super-size stores.
McMillon called himself “the best president ever,” but he wasn’t really talking about the unemployment figures, which show the U.S. labor market continues to contract. He also wasn’t saying much about the impact of the pandemic on hourly-wage workers, who by most measures are suffering from record unemployment.
Ahead of a town-hall meeting on Friday with employees at one of its stores in Arkansas, McMillon addressed some of the issues that Walmart workers face in the face of the coronavirus. Some of the employees brought to the event were without benefits, and others were worried about being paid.
McMillon said the store chain is seeing “employees that could be eligible for income support and benefits — some have them, some don’t — who are working around the clock. And that’s a huge challenge” to keep the stores running.
McMillon said if the virus does not impact people’s paychecks, “every day is frightening.” He and Walmart executives did not talk in specifics about how the coronavirus and the pandemic are affecting hourly wage workers at the retailer.
Earlier in the day, McMillon’s remarks were posted online, with an additional comment from Walmart that indicated a need for “greater protections for our associates.” The comment was not a full-throated denunciation of any particular legislation or proposal.
This is not an unprecedented situation. Walmart has already paid out