Around 500 employees are expected to be laid off by Wal-Mart Stores Inc at its headquarters in Arkansas as part of the retail giant's efforts to pare costs, reports the media.
Quoting sources knowledgeable about the company affairs, American media says that the global retail giant is slated to make the announcement later this week.
The sources put the number of job cuts at around 500.
There were no comments available from Wal-Mart even as leading American newspaper like the Wall Street Journal published articles about the job cuts.
This layoffs are being viewed by the analysts as a part of the streamlining effort that has been flagged by Chief Executive Doug McMillon in recent months. Even though the layoffs would not be a significant percentage of the 18,000 people employed at the Bentonville, Arkansas office, this move is indicative of the company’s desire to cut down costs by reducing expenditure.
"There are no cash registers in the office," McMillon had told analysts after the company's annual shareholders' meeting in June this year in an effort to emphasize his focus on stores as the earnings driver for the company.
While local recruiting firms have reported an influx of resumes from Wal-Mart employees concerned about losing their jobs, the speculations of the job cuts has been a topic of discussion in Bentonville for several weeks which was fueled in part by reports on the matter by local media outlet City Wire.
The suppliers too are apprehensive of cuts in orders and consequently their revenues and expect to have a knock-on impact on their local operations.
Weighed down by a $1 billion investment announced earlier this year to increase wages for half a million store-level workers, the world's largest retailer has struggled to shore up its profit margins. Other costs factors in the company have increased even as the company's stock has come down by 26 percent so far this year.
Hit by higher labour costs, a squeeze on pharmacy margins and the stronger dollar, which has crimped its overseas business, Wal-Mart had reported weaker quarterly earnings and lowered its annual profit forecast in August this year.
A detailed strategy for the revival of the company for the present financial stress is expected to be presented to the analysts and investors by McMillon and other top executives of the company at a meeting to be held later this month in New York.
The company had laid off 50 people earlier this year in February and sources expect the latest lay-offs to be among the marketing and lower-to mid-level management.
Creation of an efficient operations in the company have been reiterated over and again by McMillon and Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran. The company wants to better serve the stores and that is the top priority of the Wal-Mart at the moment, McMillon has said earlier.
“There are no cash registers in the home office,” McMillon told analysts in June.
Other retailers have also cut jobs earlier this year with companies like Target announcing 1,700 jobs to be eliminated at its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis and January. Dallas-based J.C. Penney cut 300 corporate jobs earlier this year.
(Source:www.reuters.com & www.thecitywire.com)
Quoting sources knowledgeable about the company affairs, American media says that the global retail giant is slated to make the announcement later this week.
The sources put the number of job cuts at around 500.
There were no comments available from Wal-Mart even as leading American newspaper like the Wall Street Journal published articles about the job cuts.
This layoffs are being viewed by the analysts as a part of the streamlining effort that has been flagged by Chief Executive Doug McMillon in recent months. Even though the layoffs would not be a significant percentage of the 18,000 people employed at the Bentonville, Arkansas office, this move is indicative of the company’s desire to cut down costs by reducing expenditure.
"There are no cash registers in the office," McMillon had told analysts after the company's annual shareholders' meeting in June this year in an effort to emphasize his focus on stores as the earnings driver for the company.
While local recruiting firms have reported an influx of resumes from Wal-Mart employees concerned about losing their jobs, the speculations of the job cuts has been a topic of discussion in Bentonville for several weeks which was fueled in part by reports on the matter by local media outlet City Wire.
The suppliers too are apprehensive of cuts in orders and consequently their revenues and expect to have a knock-on impact on their local operations.
Weighed down by a $1 billion investment announced earlier this year to increase wages for half a million store-level workers, the world's largest retailer has struggled to shore up its profit margins. Other costs factors in the company have increased even as the company's stock has come down by 26 percent so far this year.
Hit by higher labour costs, a squeeze on pharmacy margins and the stronger dollar, which has crimped its overseas business, Wal-Mart had reported weaker quarterly earnings and lowered its annual profit forecast in August this year.
A detailed strategy for the revival of the company for the present financial stress is expected to be presented to the analysts and investors by McMillon and other top executives of the company at a meeting to be held later this month in New York.
The company had laid off 50 people earlier this year in February and sources expect the latest lay-offs to be among the marketing and lower-to mid-level management.
Creation of an efficient operations in the company have been reiterated over and again by McMillon and Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran. The company wants to better serve the stores and that is the top priority of the Wal-Mart at the moment, McMillon has said earlier.
“There are no cash registers in the home office,” McMillon told analysts in June.
Other retailers have also cut jobs earlier this year with companies like Target announcing 1,700 jobs to be eliminated at its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis and January. Dallas-based J.C. Penney cut 300 corporate jobs earlier this year.
(Source:www.reuters.com & www.thecitywire.com)
