After Sales Plummet, Walmart Realizes It Can’t Run Stores On Temps Alone

[ProSense]

After Sales Plummet, Walmart Realizes It Can’t Run Stores On Temps Alone

By Aviva Shen

After cutting employees’ hours so deeply that stores could not keep their shelves stocked, Walmart is adding more full-time workers in time for the holiday shopping season. The retail giant has been shedding customers recently due to disorganized stores and empty shelves.

Walmart started aggressively cutting staff during the recession. Over the past five years, its total American workforce dropped by 120,000, even as the company opened more than 500 new U.S. stores. The result is longer check-out lines, backlogged inventory, and poor customer service — not to mention employee protests all over the country. Now, amid plunging sales and massive strikes, even Walmart has conceded it can’t run a business on a skeleton crew. Over the next few months, the company will move 35,000 part-time workers to full-time, and another 35,000 temporary workers will become part-time staff.

After the Affordable Care Act kicks in January 1, Walmart’s new full-time employees will be eligible for health insurance after 90 days, a vast improvement on the retailer’s usual 6-month waiting period. To qualify for benefits, part-time staff must work an average of 30 hours a week for a year — no small feat at a company known to abruptly cancel shifts, cut hours, and lay off workers at any moment.

While most stores will hire an army of temporary workers to handle the holiday season rush, Walmart has been relying almost exclusively on temps year-round. A Reuters survey of 52 stores in June found that most were hiring only temps, who must re-apply for their jobs after 180 days. Meanwhile, existing long-time employees have seen their hours reduced drastically.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/24/2669191/walmart-adds-fulltime-workers/

Getting tired of those settlements? Attempting to repair its image? Losing profits due to depraved business model?

All of the above?

[factsarenotfair]

1. Will the full-timers be salaried with day-to-day variable hours up to 100 hours per week?

Will they have to work day AND night shifts with a few minutes notice? The devil is in the details.

[louis-t]

2. Wal-Mart believes their own bullshit.

They think workers LOVE working there. See, they even made commercials that said so.

[durablend]

4. Aw come on

Surely a nice guy like Darell couldn't be lying?

[factsarenotfair]

6. Some Wal-Mart employees do love working in some stores, but

I know of one store that had a manager who might have been Satan.

[BobbyBoring]

18. You can tell

By their ear to ear grins!

[jollyreaper2112]

3. Walmart execs live in a bubble

They are isolated from the rest of the world. They're like homeschooled Christian kids from the midwest who truly believe what they've been taught because they've literally never encountered anything to challenge those assumptions. It's the Bentonville Bubble.

[Laelth]

54. Most likely. n/t

-Laelth

[Scurrilous]

5. Heh.

[House of Roberts]

7. Didn't Circuit City try a similar tactic?

Shortly before they had to go bankrupt?

[Katashi_itto]

17. I think they did, but I think the damage was already done.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Uh, D, Prosense?

All of the Above.

[ProSense]

23. Ding!

[LittleGirl]

9. Then it's working right? Boycotts etc.

If only we could get everyone in the country to boycott their stores, they might make some more significant changes. I don't care what they do. I will never step foot in one. And there is one right near Sprouts and Trader Joe's that I frequent instead. I go to Costco weekly and their employees are helpful and happy.

[dorkzilla]

27. +1

Trader Joe's and Costco are just about the only stores I shop in. I've never stepped foot in a walmart and it seems like, the way things are going, I never shall!

[Jamaal510]

30. More people probably would boycott

if the prices of other stores were cheaper. That is the main reason why WalMart has (sadly) been so successful, despite their image--they have lower prices than their competitors and offer a wider variety of merchandise under one roof.

[LittleGirl]

34. except at the tax payers expense !!!!

If the employees qualify for Section 8 housing, food stamps and Medicaid, then we are subsidizing their low wages. That is corporate welfare and I don't support them, now or ever. I get my gas at Costco too. I'll find every way possible to pay a fair rate for services I buy, if I can help it. That's just how I roll.

[Mr.Bill]

10. So they will be eligible for health insurance in 90 days?

Just in time for the post-holiday layoffs.

[NuclearDem]

11. I'll go with "realizing CostCo is kicking their ass while being good to its workers".

[Jesus Malverde]

16. Costco is not Walmart.

Costco compares to a small part of Walmart called sams clubs.

[Downtown Hound]

12. I haven't shopped at a Mall Wart since 1999

And I have no plans to do so ever again.

[Orrex]

13. If only we were all able to make that choice

Alas, for a great many people it's simply not an option.

[Jamaal510]

31. +1

[LittleGirl]

35. I disagree. Everyone makes a choice to shop there

Nobody is holding a gun to their head to shop there.

[Posteritatis]

43. Real World on hold for you, line #2... (nt)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

36. So, I should drive 150 miles to Costco?

Can't buy any perishable groceries, you see.....

Not an option.

[randome]

48. Sure it is.

Connect a microwave to your cigarette lighter and eat everything on the drive home! A very efficient system!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[Orrex]

14. Whatever else happens, I hope that they maintain their practice

of staffing only 3 out of 50 cash registers. Nothing caps off an enjoyable shopping experience like having to wait ten hours to buy a snow brush.

[avaistheone1]

15. lol

[bulloney]

20. Or filling a prescription

I used to have prescriptions filled at Wally World. Every time I submitted my prescription, they told me there would be at least a 30 minute wait. Most times, they didn't look that busy. The last straw was when I dropped off a prescription in the morning and told them I'd return later in the afternoon to pick it up. When I returned, they told me it would be about 30 minutes before my prescription would be ready. This was 4 hours after I dropped off my prescription!

This is nothing but a ploy to get you to shop around while waiting and purchase "stuff" you otherwise wouldn't buy.

Now, I fill my prescriptions elsewhere and the waiting time has always been 5 minutes or less.

[Orrex]

21. Sadly, that's been my experience wherever I've tried to fill a prescription

If I hang out in the waiting room, it takes 20 minutes to complete. If I drop off the script & return six hours later, I have to hang out 20 minutes in the waiting room while they fill it. This is true whether it's 10 antibiotic pills or 100 prenatal vitamins. Why do they even say 20 minutes except to screw with me?!?

[Jackpine Radical]

24. We use a Shopko where you can phone in your prescriptions to an automated system.

They always have the prescriptions ready on time unless there is some unusual problem. They will even call your doc to try to get the scrip renewed if it was your last refill.

[madinmaryland]

38. Congratulations!! I did not know you were expecting. I also thought you were a guy.

[AllyCat]

45. Congrats on the new addition :)

[Orrex]

46. Not so new, now

But thanks all the same!

[disidoro01]

28. I love it

Hit the nail on the head Orrex.

[Posteritatis]

44. They actually eliminated cashiers entirely at the one here in town

It's all automated checkouts.

(You can imagine what that does to the ability of the lines to move.)

[gussmith]

19. Being a Business, A Company, A Corporation

should have certain requirements. Like dependable hours, health care, sick leave or what ever makes the working world humane. Unions evolved to deal with the likes of Walmart.

[laundry_queen]

40. Being in charge of a business like walmart

should require more than a 'free market rulz!' MBA. Not all MBAs or business degrees are the same. At my school, it's well known how much loss you will incur if you treat your employees like shit. If employees don't feel like they are getting treated fairly, they will find other ways to 'compensate' (stealing, shirking, wasting time, spending time on their phone, calling in sick when not sick) and you will have employees that don't give a shit about the health of your company or the care of your customers. You will spend tons on training and recruiting because of high turnover. None of that is good. And that doesn't even take into account all the lost business because of empty shelves and messy stores. Any moron with a DECENT business degree knows that. Clearly, walmart lacks smart people at the top.

[BlueStreak]

22. Let's be very clear about the lessons here

1) This part time monkey business happened 3 years before "Obamacare" ever existed in any formal form.

2) "Obamacare" is actually IMPROVING health care for Wal*Mart workers because Wal*Mart will have to provide this coverage after one month, rather than being able to jerk employees around forever.

3) The thing that is making the difference is the improving jobs market. When unemployment is 8%, asshole companies like Wal*Mart can get away with just about anything because people are so desperate fro work. 7% unemployment isn't great, but that 0.7% improvement in unemployment makes a HUGE difference. That has taken just enough ultra-desperate workers out of the market to force the Wal*Marts of the world to stop jacking them around (or reduce it, anyway.)

4) If we can get this down to 6%, everything changes. And the people behind the Republican Party understand this perfectly well. I am not talking about the morons and charlatans like Cruz and Paul. They are just comic stooges in the fine tradition of Bachmann, Palin, and Herman Cain. The real forces (Koch Brothers, Bush crime family, Adelman et al) are all about cheap labor.

5) THIS is exactly why Republicans have opposed every attempt by the Obama administration to recover and rebuild employment.

[Laelth]

56. +1. n/t

-Laelth

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

25. Treatment of their workers aside the plain fact is most of Wal-Mart's stuff is crap.

That is all.

[dgibby]

26. Nothing would make me happier

than seeing Costco pull off a hostile takeover of Walmart and Sams. Walmart has ruined my hometown and the other small town near it by running off most of the locally owned businesses. Since we're 40 miles from the nearest city, Walmart is the only game in town other than a Kroger's and a Food Lion. Ptoohy! A pox on all their houses.

[spinbaby]

29. I figured they had troubles when they lost my sister in-law

My sister in-law lived in Arkansas back in the day when Walmart was just getting started and was a faithful Walmart shopper for years. She stopped shopping there because the stores are too big, the lines are too long, the shelves are too messy, and they always seem to be out of at least one thing on her list. Target and Kroger for her now.

[tridim]

32. Meanwhile Costco thrives while treating their employees like humans.

Fuck you Walmart.

[Blue Idaho]

33. Set foot in a Walmart?

Never have - Never will.

[BainsBane]

37. I wish there were no distinction between part time and full time in ACA

companies over a certain size should provide coverage regardless. If everyone were required to do so, the playing field among companies would be level and what they see as the negative financial effect neutralized. Yes, they might have to raise prices, and we may have to pay a bit more for some stuff, but we're all in this world together. Sick people advantage no one.

[Cha]

39. Good on the workers at walmart! thanks

ProSense~

[Warren DeMontague]

41. "They should pay US to work here!"

Sadly, that seems to be the attitude.

[bluestate10]

42. "Getting tired of those settlements? Attempting to repair its image? Losing profits due to depraved

business model?". No, Walmart has finally recognized that it is hurting the very people that are the company's most reliable customers. I don't shop at Walmart if I can possibly avoid doing so and don't mind paying more money for products that are in line with my moral and social views, I am not a person that the Walmart can rely on.

[ProSense]

49. Actually,

"Getting tired of those settlements? Attempting to repair its image? Losing profits due to depraved business model?". No, Walmart has finally recognized that it is hurting the very people that are the company's most reliable customers. I don't shop at Walmart if I can possibly avoid doing so and don't mind paying more money for products that are in line with my moral and social views, I am not a person that the Walmart can rely on.

...all of the above leads to "hurting" its "most reliable customers."

Walmart employees, their families and friends are definitely in that group.

[davidpdx]

63. Very true

When you look at the stakeholders in a company it pretty much encompasses a wide variety of people who may or may not be directly involved with Wal-Mart.

[hatrack]

47. And after the Christmas rush, they'll tempify 35,000 PTE and bust another 35K FTE to part-time

Other than meeting the pressing needs of the next quarterly earnings report, they don't care.

In addition, They. Learn. Nothing.

[ProSense]

50. Walmart needs to be watched.

Still, it's not like they can hide.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

51. I think that we will see the end of the Walmart empire

by 2015 it will be gone

[MADem]

53. No. They'll rework their business model before they fold.

They will do the minimum they have to do, but they won't be gone--they're everywhere...they're even in China. http://www.wal-martchina.com/english/

[madrchsod]

60. a&p thought the same thing in the usa

at one time they controlled almost 90% of the us grocery market. one day walmart will face the same fate adapt or die.

[MADem]

61. A and P never had the Chinese market....and the British market...

...and the Mexican market....and the Canadian market...and the Japanese market....etc.

And they're moving into Africa next, starting with Kenya.

Walmart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under 55 different names.[14] The company operates under the Walmart name in the United States, including the 50 states and Puerto Rico. It operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, in Japan as Seiyu, and in India as Best Price. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. Walmart's investments outside North America have had mixed results: its operations in the United Kingdom, South America, and China are highly successful, whereas ventures in Germany and South Korea were unsuccessful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart


A and P was a corner grocer compared to Wal-Mart. They never changed their business model, they never expanded their store size; in fact, a few A and Ps that I remember are now either drugstores or convenience stores--which shows how small a footprint they operated in.

The Walmart 'suits' may be craven profiteers, running a greed-centered corporate entity, but they most certainly aren't stupid. They won't continue down a path that sees them losing customers and hemorrhaging profits. They will adjust. They will nip, tuck, restructure, branch out, revitalize, revamp, rework, and do what they need to do to stay viable.

They will adapt their business model and sail their corporate ship out of these dangerous waters.

[madville]

52. They only made a 3 billion profit this last quarter

Actually up from last year. Unfortunatley they aren't going out of business anytime soon. Maybe they will turn their employee relations around and become a reputable company, I will still always blame them for destroying many small town businesses.

[bklyncowgirl]

55. Walmart near work let two full racks of mums dry out and die.

I go by there every day on my lunchtime fitness walk.

Either they couldn't be bothered or, seeing this, did not have the workers to water the things. They just kept dropping the price as the flowers got browner and browner.

Final price $1.99 for DEAD flowers.

The next day they were gone.

[madrchsod]

58. same thing where i live...

[Turbineguy]

57. A lot of their customers watch Fox Noise

Maybe they are trying to save up to pay their Obamcare premiums which they are told will be double what they are now.

[Coyotl]

59. BOYCOTT Wal*Mart! Support your local unions!

[sigmasix]

62. walmart holds out the hope

walmart holds out the hope that a fox "news" family can save enough from their grocery budget for the payment on the latest AR15 that angry white dad had to have to defend himself from Obama thugs and the goons that force white people to get gay married to mud people.