WalMart To Fire 16,000 As It Closes 269 Stores Globally
The last 12 months have not been kind to WalMart.
When the world's largest retailer bowed to pressure to raise wages for its lowest-paid employees, the living wage crowd cheered. In short order, it became apparent that the reverberations from the $1.5 billion endeavor would spell trouble for the company.
When a series of ill-fated efforts to squeeze the supply chain failed to plug the gap, the company resorted to store closures (or "plumbing" as WalMart calls it), job cuts in Bentonville, and reduced hours.
Finally, in October, WalMart threw in the towel and cut guidance. Its shares plunged.
Now, we learn the retailer is set to close nearly 300 stores, affecting some 16,000 employees worldwide.
- WAL-MART TO CLOSE 269 STORES
- WAL-MART SAYS 10,000 ASSOCIATES AFFECTED IN U.S.
- WAL-MART SEES ABOUT 16,000 ASSOCIATES AFFECTED
- WAL-MART SEES FINAL EFFECT 20C-22C ON EPS CONT OPS
- WAL-MART EXITS WAL-MART EXPRESS PILOT
This time around, "plumbing" was not cited as a factor.
Behold: the effect of an across the board minimum wage hike...
* * *
Full PR
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT: NYSE) today announced plans to close 269 stores in the U.S. and globally.
In October 2015, the company said an active review of the portfolio was underway to ensure assets were aligned with strategy. Today’s action follows a thorough review of Walmart’s nearly 11,600 worldwide stores that took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans. In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue.
“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”
Store Closings/Openings
As part of today’s action, the company will close 154 locations in the U.S., including the company’s 102 smallest format stores, Walmart Express, which had been in pilot since 2011. Walmart instead will focus on strengthening Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and expanding Pickup services for customers. Also covered in the closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.
Internationally, the company is following a disciplined strategy of actively managing its portfolio. Consistent with this strategy, the company is closing 115 stores outside the United States. This includes 60 recently-closed, loss-making stores in Brazil, which represents only 5 percent of sales in that market. The company has already been able to relocate many affected associates in Brazil to other stores. The remaining 55 stores are primarily small, loss-making stores in other Latin American markets. Walmart will disclose more detail about those actions, including the number of stores per market, after completing local associate and community outreach.
Walmart will continue to invest in its future, with plans to open stores worldwide in the coming fiscal year. Domestically, Walmart intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in Fiscal 2017, which begins Feb. 1. In the same period, Sam’s Club plans to open in seven to 10 new locations. Internationally, Walmart intends to open between 200 and 240 stores during the coming year.
Financial Impact
The financial impact of these closures is estimated to be approximately $0.20 to $0.22 of diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, with approximately $0.19 to $0.20 expected to impact the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The remainder of the impact will fall into the first half of fiscal 2017. Approximately 75 percent of the impact relates to U.S. closings and the remaining portion involves Walmart International, with a large majority of the international impact relating to the closures in Brazil. Walmart will report its fiscal 2016 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 18. The estimated financial impact is not included in the company’s fiscal 2016 fourth quarter and full year earnings guidance.
Store Associates and Transition Assistance
In total, approximately 16,000 associates will be impacted by the decision, about 10,000 of them in the U.S. More than 95 percent of the closed stores in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, and the hope is that these associates will be placed in nearby locations. Where that isn’t possible, the company will provide 60 days of pay and, if eligible, severance, as well as resume and interview skills training. Whether with Walmart or elsewhere, the company’s objective is to help all associates find their next job opportunity.
“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. “We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”
Walmart will continue to serve the shopping needs of U.S. customers in the markets affected by today’s announcement through other Walmart locations and online at www.walmart.com. Customers can find the nearest Walmart store through the store locator function on the company’s website. A list of U.S. stores that are closing will be available today on the company’s website at approximately 11 a.m. CST.
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REPEAT WARNING
Get ready for 6 more copies of this post.
Post diarrhoea at its extreme.
I don’t understand why everyone bashes Walmart and not Target? Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
I don’t understand why everyone bashes Walmart and not Target? Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
Boy, you can say that again. And again. And again?
I'm beginning to think there's not much he does understand. for a fact he doesn't understand his computer or the internet.
Neither can McCain, yet he's employable... Oh, wait, 'politician' isn't a real job.
I don’t understand why everyone bashes Walmart and not Target? Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
I don’t understand why everyone bashes Walmart and not Target? Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
I don’t understand why everyone bashes Walmart and not Target? Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
you do have a good point here...
target looks better but....
The way management treats its' people at WalMart is a fucking disgrace.I refuse to shop there and don't believe in serving corruption.Any business that Warren Buffet invests in,this same type of model tries to drive ordinary working Americans into the gutter.That's why Uncle Warren is a major shareholder in WalMart.They just use people,burn them out and throw them out.It's an example of how the service sector in America treats people.Politicians serve the owners of WalMart as paid-off hacks through donations to their campaigns.Top it off,this corporation on a daily basis ships millions into offshore accounts and isn't paying its' fair share of taxes on all this offshore money that's in the billions.
<--------Go on food stamps
<--------Get a job at wally world
One of the biggest employers of low skilled pawns is downsizig, so where do the pawns go next? Germany?
I understand Ireland is the next stop from the Eastern Seaboard. From the West I don't know ... Mexico?
Actually, Bermuda is the next stop. Go party it up!
All the people that I know that work at Walmart are on food stamps
The way management treats its' people at WalMart is a fucking disgrace.I refuse to shop there and don't believe in serving corruption.Any business that Warren Buffet invests in,this same type of model tries to drive ordinary working Americans into the gutter.That's why Uncle Warren is a major shareholder in WalMart.They just use people,burn them out and throw them out.It's an example of how the service sector in America treats people.Politicians serve the owners of WalMart as paid-off hacks through donations to their campaigns.Top it off,this corporation on a daily basis ships millions into offshore accounts and isn't paying its' fair share of taxes on all this offshore money that's in the billions.
"The way management treats its' people at WalMart is a fucking disgrace."
American's doing what American's do best.
The living wage crowd are exclusively progressives.
The progressive stupid, it burns.
Grimaldus
2.2 million in the World (2015)
2.2 million in the World (2015)
2.2 million in the World (2015)
So 16000 layoffs is nothing.
Hey Mr. Olinsky: When our desert cities CA WalMex is closed, alongside the already 4 year closed SamsClub, the parking lots could be converted to an airport to accept your incoming new immigrant voters, and the empty buildings made into hope and rollback refugee centers.
Hahaha! Great news.
It’s so hypocritical when dumb liberals bash Walmart and not Target. Target only hires clean cut Yuppie looking workers and pays them about a 5 cents more than Walmart workers. Walmart does our nation a great service by hiring the unemployable dregs of society. I saw a 70 year old lady stocking shelves barely able to raise her arms above her shoulders. Target would never hire someone like that!
Obama called various CEO across the country pushing them to increase wages. Both MCD AND Walmart did so...
Now chaos ....
Everything Obama is involved with turns to sh@t
WalMart closing stores is bad news for foreign manufacturers - and may be, on the margin, good for US manufacturers. WalMart is probably the biggest importer of foreign goods in the country. Foreign imports = higher unemployment here. Maybe even the mindless WalMart shopper, who doesn't have the ability to realize he is cutting his own 'employment throat' with 'money saving discounts,' will be forced to quit supporting foreign economies.
2 walmarts in my area
if one closes means more unemployed Somolians...
Ya, but the remaining one more than doubles its EBT sales.
Tylers, you must stop this "peddling fiction", immediately.
<queues the mental image of obama riding a tricycle...>
Love it! LMAO...
This will create a HUGE surge in demand for gasoline. Instead of driving one mile to your neighborhood Walmart, you will be forced to drive three miles to a Walmart SuperCenter!
And it is curious that Walmart is shuttering its little stores (close to the customer) at the same time that Amazon is placing One Hour Delivery locations 'close to the customer'.
Yesterday I drove past whale-mart on the way to the library.
Don't know if the Walton's were visiting or what, but a Rolls was coming out of the parking lot.
Almost wet myself laughing.
“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. .... We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”
Damn, I hate corporate-speak and those who propagate it. I guess "impacted" is the new douchebag euphamism for *fired* ... There's not a place in Hell hot enough for these PC fruitbags ...
I wonder whether ex-Walmart Board member Hillary Clinton will volunteer any opinions about this.
BFD - Walmart closes a few stores - most of the comments are negative - I guess I understand that.
But
When you run a large company you must be willing to close down stuff that is not working - that is actually the right thing to do.
I have never worked for Walmart as an employee - but I did manufacture and sell stuff to them for 15 years. They are - overall - a great company to work with.
The reason government is so grossly fucked up is because they can't make the hard decision to close stuff down that is failing - they just keep adding more shit on top.
In the long run you are much better off - and so are the majority of your employees - if you take a number of small hits - to keep your company on track VS delaying things and ending up totally fucked in the ass.
Fuck those motherfuckers!
I live in a fairly rural area in NE Texas. About a year ago Wal-Mart went and put in two of those "Express" stores in the local area.
Cut prices and effectively shut down the local grocery stores. I told everyone I could not to shop there. Wal-Mart specializes in ruining local business.
Now they're going to fucking close?
So you don't like competition?
I've no problem at all with competetion.
What they did here was create havoc.
What do you suppose the major criteria is for being on the closing list?
Lots of shoplifting?
Congratulations, distressed minority communities and social justice activists. You've stuck it to the man once again and now you live in a food desert.
That's going to be quite inconveninent when the time comes to actually have food riots. Hope the buses are running.
Having read the comments to this point, I kow I will be castrated for this, but I'll say it anyway.
The model we use for economics isn't working. We all apparently want to see the current system dismantled, but, that isn't going to happen until we look at how we relate to each other. By seeing a walmart employee as less deserving speaks volumes about how you see yourself in the scheme of things. Unless we begin to see things differently we are doomed to continue down this path we are on. Ask yourself why a 70 year old woman is stocking shelves, why anyone would volunteer to work under the conditions described in these comments. Ask why mangement makes billions a year, and wants more next year and then ask why a living wage is too much to ask.
What I find humorous is the people who refuse to shop at WalMart because they exterminate local businesses but then go across the street to Safeway or some equivalent.
Those are just the previous wave of big businesses that squashed the local corner store guys so what's the diff?
Meanwhile, Amazon plots to become the Universal Store that has literally everything, which will extinguish all other competitors great and small and replace those millions of low-wage Wally World humans with robot warehouse pickers and drones.
How many of you guys are boycotting them-- the real threat of the new millenia?
"Meanwhile, Amazon plots to become the Universal Store that has literally everything, which will extinguish all other competitors great and small and replace those millions of low-wage Wally World humans with robot warehouse pickers and drones."
Automate everything, even the farms. Everyone works one day per week maintaining the machines and everything is free. People are left to put together their bucket lists and research immortality. Now who wouldn't want that?
Better to let someone other than the business and the employees decide what the pay rate for a job should be -
What we need is more government control over every fucking thing they don't already control.
Let's decide wages and benefits based off of politics instead of economics - that works great - just look at Cuba and Venezuela.
/s/
"the hope is that these associates will be placed in nearby locations."
Great news! Everybody's hours are reduced!
By "actross board minumum wage hike" you mean Board of Directors right?
Stop with the BS lies. Walmart raised their wages because they couldn't attract decent workers, not to be PC. When have they ever cared about being PC in the past or since-- never. The fact is that you guys want low prices, low wages for people who are not like you, high wages for people who are like you, and a strong consumer economy. In other words, morons want to have your cake and eat it too, but that's not how it works.
A lot of Barry's Hope and Change peeps aren't gonna be too happy. Pink slips for you!
Forward Bitchez!
The result of the minimum wage hike? Bullshit, but it plays well to the Trump supporters here. Cuz you know Trump is looking out for ya, right?
Here's the list:
http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/15/walmart-continues-sharpe...
who cares! down with wage slavery.. we don't need it! minimum wage raise? nope. this is about wage slavery on a massive scale so fuck it. buh bye wallyworld. no one cares. we dont need it