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Thread: Walmart Closing Dozens Of Sam's Club, Firing Thousands On Same Day It Raised Minimum Wage

  1. #1

    Walmart Closing Dozens Of Sam's Club, Firing Thousands On Same Day It Raised Minimum Wage

    Walmart Abruptly Closing Dozens Of Sam's Club Stores, Firing Thousands On Same Day It Raised Minimum Wages (Title was truncated)
    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...t-raised-wages

    Wal-Mart was quick to make a media splash with the news that it was raising the starting hourly wages to $11/hour, expanding employee benefits and offering worker bonuses of up to $1000 in response to the Trump tax cuts; it was far more covert, however, with the news that on the very same day it was also closing hundreds of Sam's Club stores nationwide and laying off thousands of workers according to numerous media reports.

    Jessica Buckner, an audit team lead at a Sam's Club location in Anchorage, told local TV station KTVA that all Alaska stores are closing as part of a larger downsizing across the U.S. "From what I heard, there's over 260 stores that have been closed down," she said according to CBS News.

    The wholesale clubs' official closure date is Jan. 26, Buckner said.

    Shortly after, the company issued a statement, stating that the number of stores for closure is somewhat lower, at 63, if still a sizable number. That compares with a total of five wholesale club stores the company has closed since fiscal 2013, securities filings show.

    Ten to 12 of the closed stores could be converted to e-commerce facilities, the spokesperson said. The news is consistent with Sam's Club's ongoing plans to optimize its stores to fulfill more online orders and keep pace with internet retailers such as Boxed.

    The closures also affect stores in New Jersey, upstate New York, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. In some locations, per social media, people showed up to work only to be told that their location was closing, with nearly no advance notice.

    Sam’s Club shutdown? Employees at this S Loop store tell me they showed up to work and were told store is closed effective today. Sign on door says same thing. Hearing other stores also affected. Waiting on answers from parent company, Walmart #khou11 pic.twitter.com/RtbY7EhiIK
    — Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) January 11, 2018


    ...
    Full article on link.

    ---

    What is a person to do in this type of situation? Most of the good jobs are gone. Getting a college education wont help a person find a job that no longer exists. People cant afford to live on what they are paid. If they are paid more, then smaller businesses go under, bigger business just fire people. People need to earn more just to survive, but if they do, it comes at the expense of the small business owners who are no longer turning over a profit without raising their own prices. Lose Lose situation? How do we fix this as a society? Am I even asking the right questions because many times, I realize Im falling into traps that I try to be careful to avoid. What can we do?
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.



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  3. #2
    63 Sams Clubs , three in my state . Washington St in the state capital is one , the others further North . I really did not know that was there, have not been there much since I was old enough to buy a beer. Looks like quite a few in Ca , AZ, Ill , NY & NJ , probably close to a couple dozen in those states . The Mrs bought me a pair of Levis jeans for 9.41 at the one closest to me the other day , she buys gasoline there . I do not ever go there .
    Last edited by oyarde; 01-11-2018 at 05:05 PM.

  4. #3
    WalMart said they were raising their starting pay $1 an a hour. Some of that was due to states raising their minimum wage.

    They also said they were going to use some of their "tax bill" money to give $1000 bonuses to employees. Not highlighted is that to get $1,000 you need to have been with the company 20 years. The tax plan is estimated to save WalMart $18 billion over the next ten years.

    https://thinkprogress.org/truth-walm...-5966fe4245b0/

    Walmart is the latest company to make a flashy announcement: It will raise wages and provide bonuses of up to $1,000 to its employees as a result of the recent corporate tax cut.

    “Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the U.S.,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.

    But upon closer examination, Walmart’s announcement is significantly less than meets the eye.

    First, Walmart employees are eligible for the $1,000 bonus only if they’ve worked at the company for 20 years. Most Walmart employees, of course, haven’t worked there that long. Those employees will receive a smaller bonus based on seniority. Walmart didn’t explain exactly how the sliding scale will work, but said the total value of the bonuses will be $400 million. Walmart has about 2.1 million employees, which works out to be an average bonus of about $190.

    The one-time bonus Walmart announced this morning amounts to just over 2 percent of the total value of the tax cut to the company.

    In fiscal year 2017, Walmart had pre-tax profits of about $20.5 billion and paid an effective federal tax rate of around 30 percent. With a new corporate tax rate of 21 percent, the corporate tax cut is worth at least $1.85 billion to Walmart every year. Since this cut is permanent, the true benefits to Walmart will grow much larger over time. But it’s safe to say that, over 10 years, this corporate tax cut will be worth over $18 billion to Walmart.

    Walmart also announced it will increase its minimum wage from $10 to $11. While Walmart claimed this announcement was linked to the tax cut, the wage hike was likely necessary for the company to remain competitive — and, in some states, legally compliant.

    Target announced it was raising its minimum wage to $11 last September and pledged to establish a $15 minimum wage by 2020. Costco has had a minimum wage of $13.50 since 2016. Walmart itself announced similar $1 minimum wage increases in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, many states have increased their minimum wage above $10. California, for example, now has an $11 minimum wage.

  5. #4
    Up to 11,000 could lose jobs due to the closings which are not necessarily due to poor performance (some were) but because WalMart wants to convert some of them to eCommerce centers to try to compete more with Amazon.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/why-s...-stores-2018-1

    Walmart's closure of 63 Sam's Club stores shows what the company is willing to do to take on Amazon

    Walmart is closing Sam's Club stores, but that doesn't mean the chain is going away.

    Sixty-three stores in total will be closing, but customer traffic and sales comparisons — the typical reasons why companies scale back store count — can't entirely explain why Walmart has done this. In fact, both year-over-year sales and store traffic are trending upward for Sam's Club as of late last year.

    Instead, e-commerce is the major factor at play. 10 of the closed stores will be transformed into e-commerce distribution centers from their current warehouse store footprint.

    That's being done "to better serve the growing number of members shopping with us online and continue scaling the SamsClub.com business," Sam's Club CEO John Furner said in a note to Sam's Club employees.

    The implication here couldn't be any clearer: as Walmart is embracing digital through Walmart.com, so will its smaller, buy-in-bulk sibling through SamsClub.com.

    Furner goes on to explain that Sam's Club will be "able to invest more in eCommerce, remodels, and in-club technology," and expand "fresh food, Member's Mark, and exciting merchandise."

    Sam's Club has already been narrowing the products it's offering, boosting the number and quality of its Member's Mark private-label brand, and focusing on delivering to its core customer, who is different from the one Walmart serves through its discount store and Supercenters.

    The store closures — and the layoffs that happen because of them — prove that Walmart is willing to endure some pain in the short term for long-term gain as it sets its sights on its largest rival online: Amazon.

    Though Walmart has done a lot in the past year to better compete with Amazon online, it's not about to sit still. Bringing its bulk purchasing fully digital and figuring out how to deliver bulk goods to customers before Amazon does is just one more opportunity for Walmart to compete better with Amazon as the two giants continue to duke it out for retail domination.
    Ten to twelve of the 63 stores to be closed are said to be getting converted to eCommerce centers.
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 01-11-2018 at 05:55 PM.

  6. #5
    Some store employees were not told until showing up to work where a notice was on the door and police were there to greet them . Classy .

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by DamianTV View Post

    What is a person to do in this type of situation? Most of the good jobs are gone. Getting a college education wont help a person find a job that no longer exists. People cant afford to live on what they are paid. If they are paid more, then smaller businesses go under, bigger business just fire people. People need to earn more just to survive, but if they do, it comes at the expense of the small business owners who are no longer turning over a profit without raising their own prices. Lose Lose situation? How do we fix this as a society? Am I even asking the right questions because many times, I realize Im falling into traps that I try to be careful to avoid. What can we do?
    Last year Dallas-Fort Worth homebuilders started almost 34,000 homes.

    The construction total would have been even greater if builders could have rounded up more workers. The labor shortage that's hammered the U.S. housing industry continues to be one of the biggest worries for builders.

    "We are 20,000 construction workers short in D-FW despite wages rising 35 percent for most needed trades," said Phil Crone, head of the Dallas Builders Association. "I only see the shortage easing if the demand eases, I don't see that occurring in an impactful way.
    "But labor is still a big issue for our builders and is limiting construction," Wilson said.

    Attracting young workers into the business is a priority for the National Association of Home Builders, which estimates there are more than 200,000 residential construction jobs going unfilled in the U.S. The average age of construction workers is in the 40s, and it's been harder to lure young people to the business.


    https://www.dallasnews.com/business/...red-lack-labor


    The median annual Carpenter salary is $53,210, as of January 02, 2018.
    As of Jan 2018, the average pay for a Bricklayer is $24.52 /hr or $41499 annually.
    The median annual Drywall Installer salary is $46,263, as of January 02, 2018.
    The median annual Roofer salary is $34,514, as of November 28, 2017.
    The median annual Electrician III salary is $59,264, as of January 02, 2018, .
    The median salary for a plumber was $51,450 in 2016.

    As demand increases these wages will only increase.

  8. #7
    The Walton family fortune totaling US$145.3 billion according to Forbes magazine, as of August 19, 2017:

    Jim Walton $45.2 billion.
    S. Robson Walton $45 billion.
    Alice Walton $44.9 billion.
    Lukas Walton $15.6 billion.
    Ann Walton Kroenke $6.6 billion.
    Christy Walton $7.2 billion.
    Nancy Walton Laurie $5.7 billion.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton_family

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    The Walton family fortune totaling US$145.3 billion according to Forbes magazine, as of August 19, 2017:

    Jim Walton $45.2 billion.
    S. Robson Walton $45 billion.
    Alice Walton $44.9 billion.
    Lukas Walton $15.6 billion.
    Ann Walton Kroenke $6.6 billion.
    Christy Walton $7.2 billion.
    Nancy Walton Laurie $5.7 billion.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton_family
    So?



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by phill4paul View Post
    So?
    Answers part of the question of why jobs don't pay as much anymore. The money doesn't go to the workers- it goes to the corporation owners instead. Their low wages and low prices forced good paying jobs out of business- driving out the family stores. The money no longer stays in a community- it gets shipped to the corporate offices (or to share holders).

    What is a person to do in this type of situation? Most of the good jobs are gone. Getting a college education wont help a person find a job that no longer exists. People cant afford to live on what they are paid. If they are paid more, then smaller businesses go under, bigger business just fire people. People need to earn more just to survive, but if they do, it comes at the expense of the small business owners who are no longer turning over a profit without raising their own prices. Lose Lose situation? How do we fix this as a society? Am I even asking the right questions because many times, I realize Im falling into traps that I try to be careful to avoid. What can we do?

  12. #10
    So, you all think the company shouldn't restructure if they want to?
    #NashvilleStrong

    “I’m a doctor. That’s a baby.”~~~Dr. Manny Sethi

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    So, you all think the company shouldn't restructure if they want to?
    Well, it would be nice if they give the employees some kind of advance notice.

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Answers part of the question of why jobs don't pay as much anymore. The money doesn't go to the workers- it goes to the corporation owners instead. Their low wages and low prices forced good paying jobs out of business- driving out the family stores. The money no longer stays in a community- it gets shipped to the corporate offices (or to share holders).
    I provided an example of a growing and understaffed labor market that has good wages. If you work at Wal-Mart then it is your choice.

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    So, you all think the company shouldn't restructure if they want to?
    Only the progressives on the forum.

  16. #14
    A lot of businesses close without warning, and don't pay their employees their due.
    #NashvilleStrong

    “I’m a doctor. That’s a baby.”~~~Dr. Manny Sethi

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by phill4paul View Post
    I provided an example of a growing and understaffed labor market that has good wages. If you work at Wal-Mart then it is your choice.
    WalMart workers are likely not skilled in construction.

    Interesting related article:

    http://www.chron.com/homes/article/T...r-11728756.php

    Trump's immigrant crackdown causing Texas construction worker shortage, industry experts say


    Construction costs and home prices are rising in Texas due to President Donald Trump's approach on illegal immigration, according to a Fox News report that cited industry experts.

    "Half of the workers in construction in Texas are undocumented," Stan Marek, CEO of Marek Construction, told Fox News. "We do hear that there are a lot of undocumented workers that are leaving the state, going to other states that don't have the anti-immigrant sentiment and many of them are going back to Mexico."

    Marek's remarks are backed up by a University of Texas study that surveyed construction sites in Texas' major cities and found that half of the workers were undocumented. A separate study by the National Association of Home Builders put the figure at 40 percent.

    One industry expert told the news outlet that construction costs had climbed by over 30 percent because companies had to pay more to attract workers. A recent figure by the National Association of Home Builders found 56 percent of developers are reporting labor shortages.
    More at link.
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 01-11-2018 at 06:20 PM.

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    WalMart workers are likely not skilled in construction.
    Most skilled construction workers start out unskilled. I've never met a single person that was born with the knowledge.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    WalMart workers are likely not skilled in construction.

    Interesting related article:

    http://www.chron.com/homes/article/T...r-11728756.php

    Trump's immigrant crackdown causing Texas construction worker shortage, industry experts say


    Construction costs and home prices are rising in Texas due to President Donald Trump's approach on illegal immigration, according to a Fox News report that cited industry experts.

    "Half of the workers in construction in Texas are undocumented," Stan Marek, CEO of Marek Construction, told Fox News. "We do hear that there are a lot of undocumented workers that are leaving the state, going to other states that don't have the anti-immigrant sentiment and many of them are going back to Mexico."

    Marek's remarks are backed up by a University of Texas study that surveyed construction sites in Texas' major cities and found that half of the workers were undocumented. A separate study by the National Association of Home Builders put the figure at 40 percent.

    One industry expert told the news outlet that construction costs had climbed by over 30 percent because companies had to pay more to attract workers. A recent figure by the National Association of Home Builders found 56 percent of developers are reporting labor shortages.

    More at link.
    So that is good, right?

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by phill4paul View Post
    So that is good, right?
    Depends. If you are a construction worker, it is good. If you want to buy a home, it isn't because homes will be more expensive.

    construction costs had climbed by over 30 percent
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 01-11-2018 at 06:59 PM.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Depends. If you are a construction worker, it is good. If you want to buy a home, it isn't because homes will be more expensive.
    Then perhaps people will chose smaller homes to make up the difference. Nothing wrong with that. Hopefully the era of $#@!ty-built McMansions is dead and buried.

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by DamianTV View Post
    Most of the good jobs are gone.
    I take it that you don't count six-figure income construction jobs as good?
    http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...-unfilled.html

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.3D View Post
    Well, it would be nice if they give the employees some kind of advance notice.
    Why? A lot of companies do it.
    #NashvilleStrong

    “I’m a doctor. That’s a baby.”~~~Dr. Manny Sethi

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    Why? A lot of companies do it.
    Yeah, they do. It's business. But, it's certainly not "nice." I think we all can admit that.

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    Why? A lot of companies do it.
    Oh, I know.... I've worked for a few.

    If people know the end of their job is coming up, they tend to look for another one before they lose the one they have.

    Going with unemployment insurance isn't the best way to make ends meet while finding another job.

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr.3D View Post
    Oh, I know.... I've worked for a few.

    If people know the end of their job is coming up, they tend to look for another one before they lose the one they have.

    Going with unemployment insurance isn't the best way to make ends meet while finding another job.
    I know some that milked it for years and took side jobs to make up the difference. And loved every minute of it.



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    The Walton family fortune totaling US$145.3 billion according to Forbes magazine, as of August 19, 2017:

    Jim Walton $45.2 billion.
    S. Robson Walton $45 billion.
    Alice Walton $44.9 billion.
    Lukas Walton $15.6 billion.
    Ann Walton Kroenke $6.6 billion.
    Christy Walton $7.2 billion.
    Nancy Walton Laurie $5.7 billion.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton_family
    Zippy, are you willing to take up arms and take away these peoples' wealth?

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by euphemia View Post
    So, you all think the company shouldn't restructure if they want to?
    There is a lot of Mnfg here so it is pretty uncommon. Companies know it will hurt them trying to get employees elsewhere . Basically you move yourself to the bottom of the list people want to work for . Maybe walmart does not care because they are already bottom of the list .

  31. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Trump's immigrant crackdown causing Texas construction worker shortage, industry experts say


    Construction costs and home prices are rising in Texas due to President Donald Trump's approach on illegal immigration, according to a Fox News report that cited industry experts.

    "Half of the workers in construction in Texas are undocumented," Stan Marek, CEO of Marek Construction, told Fox News. "We do hear that there are a lot of undocumented workers that are leaving the state, going to other states that don't have the anti-immigrant sentiment and many of them are going back to Mexico."

    Marek's remarks are backed up by a University of Texas study that surveyed construction sites in Texas' major cities and found that half of the workers were undocumented. A separate study by the National Association of Home Builders put the figure at 40 percent.

    One industry expert told the news outlet that construction costs had climbed by over 30 percent because companies had to pay more to attract workers. A recent figure by the National Association of Home Builders found 56 percent of developers are reporting labor shortages.
    .
    So, Zippy, you contend that every taco bender that sneaks across the border is an experienced skilled tradesman?

    Bullshat as usual.

    One thing that you do know that is true is that practically every taco bender that sneaks across the border will soak up as much public resources as possible and vote progressive democrat when possible.

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Superfluous Man View Post
    I take it that you don't count six-figure income construction jobs as good?
    http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...-unfilled.html
    I think those are the few good jobs that are left.

    Big reason I actually support construction type jobs is because it is honest work. There are other good paying jobs, but so many of them seem to be based on ability to commit fraud, theft, manipulation, extortion, etc. Like a lot of govt jobs. Other dishonest jobs are high banking positions, like a local manager or loan officer. Not direct fraud but fraud because our monetary system is fraud in and of itself. Advertisers are manipulators. Telemarketers need to kill themselves, just like Bill Hicks says. So many in the medical industry have just become pill pushers for big pharma. And whats left, Walmart? Amazon? Other temp jobs?
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.

  33. #29
    So 1,000,000 additional employees are getting bonuses because of the Republican tax cuts. That is at least 2,000,000 employees getting bonuses now. Yeah, it makes sense for Sam's to close stores out West. Costco controls almost all of the wholesale market out there. Plus, Sam's is struggling to compete with Wal-Mart and Amazon especially, but also plenty of other companies. Look at how Trader Joe's keeps expanding, Whole Foods keeps cutting prices. Not to mention the 1,000s of ALDI stores that have opened in recent years.
    Lifetime member of more than 1 national gun organization and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Part of Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. Free State Project participant and multi-year Free Talk Live AMPlifier.

  34. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith and stuff View Post
    So 1,000,000 additional employees are getting bonuses because of the Republican tax cuts. That is at least 2,000,000 employees getting bonuses now. Yeah, it makes sense for Sam's to close stores out West. Costco controls almost all of the wholesale market out there. Plus, Sam's is struggling to compete with Wal-Mart and Amazon especially, but also plenty of other companies. Look at how Trader Joe's keeps expanding, Whole Foods keeps cutting prices. Not to mention the 1,000s of ALDI stores that have opened in recent years.
    Don't you realize corporations are there to provide six figure salaries to their workers? I'm pretty sure it is in their charters of incorporation.

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