It’s been an interesting day at the nation’s largest employer. Walmart became the latest corporation to pass along some windfall when it announced it was raising its minimum wage by a dollar to $11 effective February 1st and was giving every employee a $1000 bonus, all because of the GOP tax bill. Walmart joins JetBlue, AT&T, Comcast and a growing list of companies offering bonuses.
But here’s the rub. While basking in the PR glow of bonuses and raises, Walmart was much more quietly closing dozens of its Sam’s Clubs stores, and laying off thousands of employees with no notice. The exact number hasn’t been made public but about 50 stores will be closed permanently while a dozen or so will be reborn as e-commerce distribution centers.
The company wouldn’t say how many employees are losing their jobs, but one report from Indiana showed 419 employees would soon be out of work from three stores closing in that state.
Walmart employs 2.3 million workers, which is more than one percent of the entire U.S. workforce!