Cross-posted and slightly embellished from a post at the Writing on the Wal
I thought profitable companies weren't supposed to cut jobs. Actually, it's worse than that as the people whose jobs have been cut have been invited to apply for their old positions back at what you know is going to be lower pay and probably fewer hours.
Corporate evil this scummy deserves a long excerpt:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Sunday it is cutting more than 10,000 jobs at Sam's Club, representing about 9 percent of the warehouse club operator's staff, as it outsources its product-sampling department to marketing company Shopper Events and eliminates another unit.
"Our demos can be a competitive advantage and we want to take this member experience to the next level," said Sam's Club CEO Brian Cornell in a memo to staffers.
Employees were told the news at mandatory meetings on Sunday morning.
The company also cut its new business membership representative positions, affecting about 2 staffers per store.
"We have found that we can more effectively drive membership through targeted member acquisition events and by increasing our partner membership programs," Cornell said.
"I feel betrayed," said Sally Grueling, 56, who had worked at Sam's Club for nine years, most recently in Hilliard, Ohio as a new business membership representative.
Shopper Events, based in Rogers, Ark., currently works with Wal-Mart's namesake stores on in-store demonstrations.
In the memo, Cornell said Shopper Events would hire "roughly the same number of people" cut and workers are invited to apply for those positions.
In fact, the WSJ reports:
Sam's Club employees laid off because of the shift can apply for jobs at Shopper Events, but a person familiar with the matter said only about 25% of them would likely be rehired.
Ironically, I've been reading a book about the Great Depression today, and the lesson then was that there was no recovery until WWII, when ordinary workers had wages high enough to spur consumption that again stimulated economic activity. If product demonstrators at Sam's Club are being outsourced to save money because they're too costly, I suspect real recovery might still be a long, long ways away.
