Former President and CEO of Walmart US, Bill Simon, argued that a single political move on Capitol Hill will not be enough to mitigate disruptions in the global supply chain.
“The supply chain has mastered a razor blade,” said Simon on Friday at “Morgen mit Maria”. “Only one thing won’t fix it. It will take time.”
Simon’s comments come as more than 80 members of the House of Representatives ask US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to implement a program that will allow truck drivers under the age of 21 to cross state lines. According to Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., the pilot program could add 3,000 drivers to the workforce.
Even if it may be a “good initiative”, “that [policy] in and of itself it won’t solve the problem, “the former executive told Maria Bartiromo from FOX Business.
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“These people are probably already working elsewhere, and if they change jobs to drive a truck on a freeway, it can only lead to a job gap elsewhere,” continued Simon.
Consumer demand after the pandemic and widespread labor shortages are primarily responsible for a “difficult phase” in the supply chain, according to Simon, which he believes will last until the end of this year.
“I think the next few months will be pretty rough,” he admitted. “You will see people like Amazon, Walmart and the big guys figuring out a way to get it done. But I think the stress in the system is with some of the smaller people who don’t have the resources that the big ones have. “Retailers do.”
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Simon said he is banking on these companies to get a head start in alleviating the stressed supply chain.
“I’m currently optimistic about the big retail companies,” he said, “that have the ability and resources to attract workers and have the capital to ease things like the mechanization and automation of a distribution center that will ease the labor shortage.”
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