Walmart to possibly have employees deliver packages

Walmart to possibly have employees deliver packages

In case you were unaware, the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, has an online presence that is working on rivaling Amazon. The place where Amazon beats Walmart is delivery. With an Amazon Prime subscription you can get unlimited free delivery. Now, Walmart is planning on challenging that by asking their employees to deliver packages from their stores.

Late last week, Walmart announced the testing of a new program where their employees can deliver online orders to houses during their commute home in their own cars. Walmart doesn’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to their employees, as many believe they are underpaid and in some cases grossly overworked. By asking their employees to use their own cars, one has to wonder if the employees making the deliveries will be fairly reimbursed. While Walmart says the program is voluntary for employees, in the past Walmart has been accused of having a very liberal interpretation of the word ‘voluntary’.

However, Walmart does have one valid point. They have said all their stores they are within a mile of 90% of the US population. All companies that use any kind of delivery say the last mile is the most expensive part of any delivery so Walmart could end up potentially beating Amazon in this area. The real problem is will the Walmart employees who volunteer for this program be fairly treated?