This is Squawk Pod. I'm the NBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on our

podcast Walmart CEO Doug McMillan the retail giants role during the

COVID crisis. It was interesting being in stores and watching our sales online and watching America kind of moved together at times

and the role of his fellow corporate leaders. No one in this country wanted this to happen. We just need to work together to try and

create a safe environment. The world's biggest retailer and one of

America's biggest employers is hoping to support its communities. When I think

about what the future looks like, I do think about it locally first.

We wanted to make sure that the associates that needed to stay home had the ability to go on leave.

We moved quickly to start creating this expedited hiring process.

How Walmart is supplying Americans with those need to haves, as well as the nice to haves.

You got to go on Walmart.com and check it out.

It's Wednesday, May 20th, 2020, Squawk. Walmart. NBC. I'm Becky Quick along with Joe Kernan and Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Today on the podcast, our exclusive conversation with Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillan,

the head of the biggest brick and mortar retailer in the world and the employer

for one and a half million Americans, McMillan is uniquely positioned, running an essential business.

Walmart's 4,500 plus stores in the US have remained open during the coronavirus

shutdown.

The company has hired more than 200,000 new associates.

And a lot of you are shopping online. Not quite four years after Walmart purchased online retailer

Jet.com for 3.3 billion dollars to boost its digital footprint. It's phasing out the brand

in favor of the mother ship Walmart.com and their online sales were up 74% last quarter.

Macmillan is also the chairman as of the beginning of this year of the Business Roundtable, a group of 200 CEOs from America's largest companies.

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