SAUGUS — As Walmart announced plans Tuesday to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years, local veterans services officers welcomed the news as a boost for returning soldiers.
“It’s great,” said Saugus Veterans Services Officer Andrew Biggio. “Most of the veterans I’m coming in contact with are looking for employment heavily. They’re willing to work anywhere. They want to start off earning some money and then eventually want to look for more of a long-lasting employment like something along the lines of civil service.”
Because the civil service exam can take time, Biggio said veterans can fill that void by working as a manager at a Walmart or even driving forklifts in the back.
“Since I got the job back in July I’ve already encountered over 50 new, post-9/11 veterans looking for work,” he said.
According to a statement from Bill Simon, President and CEO of Walmart U.S., Walmart will offer a job to any “honorably discharged veteran within his or her first 12 months off active duty” starting Memorial Day.
“Not every returning veteran wants to work in retail,” said Simon. “But every veteran who does will have a place to go. We project that Walmart will hire more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years.”
Simon also called hiring a veteran “one of the best decisions any of us can make.”
“Veterans have a record of performance under pressure,” said Simon. “They’re quick learners, and they’re team players. These are leaders with discipline, training and a passion for service. There is a seriousness and sense of purpose that the military instills, and we need it today more than ever. We believe Walmart is already the largest private employer of veterans in the country. And we want to hire more.”
Veterans discharged for more than 12 months will not be eligible for priority applicant status but will still be considered “highly valued candidates.”
Walmart spokesman Chris Buchanan said he expects the Saugus location to break ground “in the near future” with a hiring center opening before the store’s grand opening in 2014.
“We hope to hire many local residents of Saugus and the surrounding area including any veterans that we have pledged to hire,” he said.
The Saugus store will create around 125 new jobs while Buchanan said the Walmart on the Lynnway in Lynn employs about 191 people.
Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].
