Walmart is one of the
largest corporations in the world and is based in Arkansas. In 2013 the
company’s gross revenue was $473.6 billion (McGrath, 2014) .
Many Americans believe that Walmart is such a strong business because
they’ve got a great business model— they would be wrong. Walmart appeals to
many Americans because they’re able to beat their competitors’ prices. However,
these massive savings often lead to the company cutting corners in other areas.
For example, in order for
me to sign up for health coverage through the company this year I would have
had to deduct roughly $75 per paycheck. A deduction like this doesn’t sound
too bad for health coverage until you take in to account that my average
paycheck is about $400. Luckily for me I’m under age 26 and am still covered by
my parents’ insurance because I’m a student. For many of Walmart’s employees
the health coverage is just unaffordable. Because Walmart’s health coverage for
hourly associates is so expensive, many of them have turned to the government
for assistance. Walmart associates cost taxpayers $6.2 billion dollars each
year in Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other government assistance programs (O'Connor, 2014) . Statistics like this should
infuriate the general public because shopping at Walmart is actually costing
them more money than they think. Their tax money is being wasted to pay for
benefits because Walmart is too greedy to pay them for their associates.
Another way that Walmart cuts corners is by intentionally understaffing its' stores. As most business people will tell you, labor is one of the biggest costs that a company can face. January happens to be the end of Walmart's fiscal year. So many store managers cut hours in an effort to help them achieve a nicer bonus. The store manager of a facility ranking in a similar division to mine typically earns a bonus of somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000. This amount is given to them as a lump-sum and is on top of their annual salary, which I have been told is around $120,000.
I'm not complaining that store managers receive that level of compensation because they do work long, hard hours and they have earned it. What I find frustrating is that in order to help them get a few extra thousand dollars on their bonus they are cutting hours so severely that people's families are going hungry. For example, one of my coworkers who is by definition, a part-time associate, is regularly scheduled 32 hours each week. During the first week of February he was only scheduled 12.5 hours. That adds up to be about $170 of wages that he usually takes home but won't take home that week. Many people don't seem to think $170 is much money, but when you're living off of less than $900/month that's quite a loss.
Cutting hours to this extent means that there are long stretches of times where departments are unattended by an associate, often leaving customers without anyone to assist them, for extended periods of time.
I hope this post has opened your eyes a bit and has encouraged to make an effort to shop at your local grocery store. I hope you have a great week and I'll talk to you later! :)
Another way that Walmart cuts corners is by intentionally understaffing its' stores. As most business people will tell you, labor is one of the biggest costs that a company can face. January happens to be the end of Walmart's fiscal year. So many store managers cut hours in an effort to help them achieve a nicer bonus. The store manager of a facility ranking in a similar division to mine typically earns a bonus of somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000. This amount is given to them as a lump-sum and is on top of their annual salary, which I have been told is around $120,000.
I'm not complaining that store managers receive that level of compensation because they do work long, hard hours and they have earned it. What I find frustrating is that in order to help them get a few extra thousand dollars on their bonus they are cutting hours so severely that people's families are going hungry. For example, one of my coworkers who is by definition, a part-time associate, is regularly scheduled 32 hours each week. During the first week of February he was only scheduled 12.5 hours. That adds up to be about $170 of wages that he usually takes home but won't take home that week. Many people don't seem to think $170 is much money, but when you're living off of less than $900/month that's quite a loss.
Cutting hours to this extent means that there are long stretches of times where departments are unattended by an associate, often leaving customers without anyone to assist them, for extended periods of time.
I hope this post has opened your eyes a bit and has encouraged to make an effort to shop at your local grocery store. I hope you have a great week and I'll talk to you later! :)
