By THE MORNING NEWS
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., began laying off employees at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club home offices this morning, according to two sources.
Company spokesman David Tovar told the Associated Press the cuts were in Wal-Mart's real estate, apparel and health and wellness departments.
Workers whose jobs are cut would be paid for 60 additional days and will receive health coverage for that time, Tovar said. Those eligible will be given severance pay, based on their tenure. He said the company would waive its policy of not letting employees immediately take jobs with vendors, and outplacement services would be available.
Ed Clifford, president of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, said he began hearing of the layoffs about 9:30 a.m. today. He said the effect of the action will be widespread across Northwest Arkansas.
"We have heard anything from 700 to 1,400, but we have no idea," Clifford said.
A woman who said she lost her job today as a recruiting coordinator for Wal-Mart told The Morning News that she was called into a meeting at 8:30 a.m. with a group of other people from her department and was told that they were among 700 people being laid off.
Those being laid off were given packets with information about severance arrangements and escorted from the building, she said. They will be allowed to come back after hours to retrieve personal belongings and clean out their desks, she added.
"You could tell who was leaving because we all had our folders with us," she said. "It was very quiet."
The company had yet to provide an official statement on the layoffs early this afternoon. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore told The Morning News the company's announcement would be formally released later today.
Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said the job losses would have a "multiplier" effect.
"It's never good news and particularly when you talk about a bedrock company like Wal-Mart that has such a multiplier effect in the community, where each job lost affects other jobs, because people don't shop or eat out.
"It is bad out there. I don't think it's hard to overstate right now just how bad it is. Consumers have a complete lack of confidence because there is no safe haven — no job is a safe job."
Wal-Mart Stores posted a 2.1 percent increase in same-store sales in the U.S. in the fourth quarter. Deck said though Wal-Mart is performing relatively well in the retail sector, "the company must be thinking strategically about costs and its work force."
Text of the memo Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke distributed to Wal-Mart employees and the media on Tuesday afternoon:
Corporate Announcement
To: All Home Office associates
From: Mike Duke, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Date: February 10, 2009
RE: Organizational Changes
Dear Home Office associates:
As the new fiscal year begins, we find ourselves living in unprecedented times, and I am reminded every day of how our company is uniquely positioned to help Americans weather the economic storm. We know that millions of working men and women are relying on our low prices more than ever before, and we must continue to be an advocate for them.
Starting today, and over the next few weeks, you will be hearing from your leaders about some important changes designed to align our staffing and organizational structure to increase operational efficiencies, support our strategic growth plans and help reduce our overall costs. Some of these changes will involve reductions in Home Office positions while others will create additional management jobs elsewhere. And, as part of our overall store growth plan, we will continue to add thousands of jobs in our stores and clubs this year.
We expect the changes to impact approximately 700-800 Home Office positions including merchandising, real estate, marketing and support divisions in Walmart U.S., Sam's Club merchandising and some corporate functions. The restructuring will not impact store and club operations.
We do not make these decisions lightly, and every individual decision was carefully considered. We recognize this is a difficult development for the members of our Wal-Mart family who will be leaving the company. While the number of associates that will be impacted by the restructuring is very small compared to the 2.2 million associates we have worldwide, I can assure you that we will treat them with care and dignity and help support them during their transition, consistent with our basic beliefs and respect for the individual.
If there is one constant in our organization, it is change. We are committed to our purpose of helping people save money so they can live better and we will continue to take appropriate steps to further align our support structure with our business plans. We must also challenge costs in every corner of the company in order to keep our business strong today and well into the future.
We care about our associates, especially during times like these. Thank you for everything you have done and will do to serve our customers and help make our company better.
Mike
没有评论:
发表评论