Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By Global Macro Monitor
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Trouble in Walmart Nation

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Not so much for Walmart shareholders after the company beat estimates late in the week helping the stock (WMT) to close on Friday 7.7 percent off its low for the week.  MarketWatch notes the big-box retailer was helped by automation.

Walmart Nation

We don’t know how this helps Walmart nation, however.  The company is the largest employer in many states throughout the country.

Walmart is also the world’s largest private-sector employer.   The company has over 100k companies in its supply chain worldwide and according to its 2019 annual report,

This compares to the 2018 Annual Report,

Note the 100k year-to-year decline in employees, which appear to be the shrinking of their international workforce.   We couldn’t find any more current data on employment from the company’s quarterly reports.  Still looking, however.

Jobs at Big-box & Supercenter Retailers Are Collapsing 

We took a look at growth in retail payroll jobs over the past few years, which has been absolutely dismal.   Retail payrolls are down 176k jobs under President Trump while total private nonfarm payrolls are up 5.5 million.

Some Good News

The retail sector’s average hourly earnings (AHE) are up 9.66 percent during the Trump administration, an increase of over 70 percent from the prior 30-months (before Feb ’17) AHE growth rate.  These data should be kept in context as the retail wage gains begin at a relatively low base of around $18 per hour.

The data provides the basis to both those who argue pressuring companies to raise wages leads to layoffs whether it’s true or not, and to those who argue automation augments and makes labor more productive leading to higher real wages.   We are at the beginning of our vacation and are still in a holding pattern awaiting medical clearance for a 15-hour flight given our little episode last Christmas, so we are not going to go get into it at this time.

Finally, the following is a chart of monthly and 12-month payroll changes for warehouse clubs and supercenters retailers, of which Walmart and Costco belong.

Payrolls have been in virtual free-fall since 2017 as the warehouse clubs and supercenter retailers have lost over 40k jobs in the 12-month period since June.

Our sense automation is going to accelerate and jobs in Walmart nation are going to continue to disappear at an exponential rate.  We are not sure if the wage increases are sustainable without continued political and social pressure on management, which will probably lighten up as more and more jobs disappear.

Life is cruel and unfair sometimes and it is clear, at least to us, in this sector technological change is going to hurt those most vulnerable.  If you are reading this, you are part of the Lucky Sperm Club (LSC), and there but by the Grace of God go we.

Very few politicians have a plan to deal with it and most have their heads in the sand or in the clouds, or blaming others, for that matter.

Whatever the case, it is going to be complicated to resolve and class conflict will surely only increase.

By the way,  Costco and Walmart are on two entirely different planets as to how they treat their employees, in our superficial observation.  That’s a start, at least.

Politics

How this all plays out politically, we don’t know.   The Democratic candidate, Andrew Yang,  can probably get some traction out of it as he is the only one who seems to understand it and is at least trying to address it with the idea of a universal basic income (UBI).

One thing is for certain, the administration understands the political blowback as it is taking place in many of the home states of their base and is blaming Amazon and their non-BFF, Jeff Bezos, for the Retailgeddon, which hardly applies to Walmart, in our view.

Stay tuned, folks, this is one to watch closely.

 

 


Source: https://global-macro-monitor.com/2019/08/18/trouble-in-walmart-nation/


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    Total 3 comments
    • PaulTarsuss

      Tear ‘em up, then tear ‘em down, I say.

      But I’m not a robot, so what do I know….

    • Slimey

      I notice my loco Walmart is busy. Expanding into all kinds of products and departments. Taking other people’s sales away. :wink:

    • tonyw

      so….walmart is secretly forming a private army

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.