Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

[LargoWinch]

Recovery!...

Wal-Mart Cuts More Than 10,000 Jobs

01/24/10

Wal-Mart Stores(WMT Quote) said Sunday that its Sam's Club warehouse stores would eliminate about 11,200 jobs.

...

Story here.

[FRED]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

Recovery!...

Companies Flashing Financial Danger Signs

by Neil Weinberg
Friday, January 22, 2010

Is the recession over? Is Corporate America out of the woods? Some indicators on Wall Street seem to say yes. Yields on junk bonds are way down. A lot of companies that were on the brink a year ago have refinanced, pushing maturities of debt out to 2014 or later. And if last March you had bought an assortment of shares in the shakiest borrowers you probably would have made a huge profit. Auto parts maker ArvinMeritor was trading at 32 cents at its low on Mar. 11. It has since climbed 3,503% to $11.53.

But financial risk is not out of the system. Last year saw 207 bankruptcies of publicly traded companies. If there's a double-dip recession, this year's count could easily be as high. Leverage is still a big feature of American business.
We asked Audit Integrity, a research boutique in Los Angeles, to rank 2,700 companies for financial risk. The group consists of all public nonfinancial companies with market values of at least $100 million and $150 million in assets. Focusing on the 100 firms at the top in risk, it calculates an average 8% probability of going bust over the next 12 months. more...

[don]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

Food demonstrations will now be outsourced to foreign countries. Sam Club patrons will experience these demonstrations virtually, on (unsellable) humongous flat-screens. Cost Co will accrue Federal get-well health tax incentives for these changes in product promotion. ;)

[LargoWinch]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

Food demonstrations will now be outsourced to foreign countries. Sam Club patrons will experience these demonstrations virtually, on (unsellable) humongous flat-screens. Cost Co will accrue Federal get-well health tax incentives for these changes in product promotion. ;)

Its Sunday. Lets be political ;):

[Ann]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

Sam's Club cuts 11,200 jobs, 10 percent of workforce

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sam's Club, the warehouse club division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc is cutting roughly 11,200 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce, as it outsources in-store product demonstrations and eliminates positions used to recruit new business members.

Sam's Club Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said on Sunday that the retailer would outline charges associated with the job cuts in February, when it releases fourth-quarter results. He said he did not expect any "material impact" on its financial results.

"We look at this as an investment in the in-club experience," Cornell said in an interview. "This is not a cost-cutting move for us in the short term. We really hope it will be cost neutral for our operation. It's an investment in building loyalty, enhancing the member experience and driving future growth."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...rpc=23&sp=true

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

From the article:

Brian Pear, general manager for Shopper Events, said his company would hire about the same number of employees being let go by Sam's Club.

By and large, these are not net job cuts for the economy, but outsourcing (to the same location, as the job still necessarily requires physical presence in the store.)

[Ann]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

From the article:

By and large, these are not net job cuts for the economy, but outsourcing (to the same location, as the job still necessarily requires physical presence in the store.)

These "layoffs" represent pay cuts. Fire workers then rehire them at lower wages and with fewer benefits.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

These "layoffs" represent pay cuts. Fire workers then rehire them at lower wages and with fewer benefits.

Likely so, yes.

Such is the way of things (at best, layoffs are prevalent as well.)

I was just at my local North Texas Sam's Club this Friday evening. It seemed a bit light, and parking was easy to find.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

I can't be the only person that has noticed this and am sure it's going on around the country.

As floor staff have been eliminated in the national, retail, big box chain stores, the management of the companies have made agreements with one or many affiliated (I can't figure this part out) Multi-Level-Marketing Pyramid Scammers to allow them to operate in the stores. And also it appears the suckers that take those jobs are told to better their chances by assisting shoppers as if they actually work for the store, before launching into their sales pitch. (edit: this happened to me twice in the last 10 days at different stores)

Google search ALS Marketing Group

I know several people (edit: yes three) that have applied for these so-called "jobs".

This is a typical story:

some random person's blog entry from march 2009:

http://fearandloathingaftercollege.b...r-to-door.html

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

With emerging RFID technology and the perpetual desire to shed headcount and it's associated risk I can see everything but store "property management" and essential services being outsourced to MLM.

I can see some big box retail using a combination of shopping mall and MLM doctrine to sell/lease "property", require MLM "partners" to purchase maintain min/max inventory, and maintain contractual standards.

It would reduce head count, reduce headcount costs, reduce capital invested in inventory, etc.

Today the kid stocking the shelves is on payroll, sucking up healthcare & 401k dollars.

Tomorrow he's an "entrepreneur" available to work 24/7 on commission financed by extortionist loans from Cost Co Capital...while Cost Co IT carefully tracks what the former employee is earning and ratchets up rent/inventory costs/fees accordingly using data modeling to ensure the former employee possesses the optimal level of Cost Co Capital debt/income to ensure they are stuck there forever....

None of the HR risk, inventory costs slashed, free workers.

I know merchandising works along some of these lines, but I can imagine the possibility of screwing people over could increase much further.

Just my cynical 0.02c

[dcarrigg]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

I can't be the only person that has noticed this and am sure it's going on around the country.

Google search ALS Marketing Group

Google also the following [operating in MA, RI, and CT]:

Tradewinds Promotions
195 Marketing [formerly Andrade Aquisitions]

AG's should really stop this abuse...

http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/Trad...-is-scam/t6143

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

I can see some big box retail using a combination of shopping mall and MLM doctrine to sell/lease "property", require MLM "partners" to purchase maintain min/max inventory, and maintain contractual standards.

Dang - I think you're on to something.

Corporations have this never ending "problem" that they have a reputation to maintain with customers (few want to repeatedly offer their business to scumbags) while they have a corporate profit margin to grow with (er, against) their employees.

In recent decades this "problem" has been addressed by outsourcing as much work as possible to foreign lands which pay dirt cheap wages.

Here we see a third way. Offload the grunt work to third parties who can abuse their employees and don't mind, even exalt in, the consequent sleaze bag image.

Cool - what will our wonderful corporatocracy think of next?

[dcarrigg]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

--Deleted--

[dcarrigg]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

--Expletive Deleted-- MLM.

[dbarberic]

Re: Wal-Mart Cuts 10,000 jobs.

I suspect that there will be major retailer shake-out this spring and summer. Many retailers where hanging on for dear life through the holiday season hoping for a home run that never came through. 10K laid off at Wal-Mart makes the front page of the WSJ. Local and regional retailers closing go quietly into the night.