Wal-Mart Layoffs Approaching 'Critical Mass' for Over-worked Workers Says UFCW.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 2000

The following was released today by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union:

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) seems to be rolling back more than just prices lately. Employees across the country are saying that the company is rolling back its workforce with out-of-the-ordinary layoffs in its retail and wholesale club stores, as well as cutting the hours of thousands more.

One worker reports that one of the company's supercenters, plagued by customer complaints about long checkout lines, laid off 14 cashiers recently hired to alleviate the problem.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) has been told of the layoffs and cutbacks from employees in all geographic regions and from all divisions of the company.

Employees are telling the UFCW that this sudden move by the giant retailer is creating widespread fear and panic among Wal-Mart workers.

"The Internet is crackling with angry and concerned messages from Wal-Mart workers. We're certainly getting numerous inquiries on the UFCW's Web sites" said Michael Leonard, a vice president of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union and director of strategic programs.

"The fact that Wal-Mart has not publicly released details of the widespread layoffs and cutbacks is feeding employee resentment and concern," Leonard continued. "Wal-Mart routinely sends employees home early if a store's sales are not meeting arbitrary projections, but the current round of layoffs and hours reductions appear far more widespread than isolated sales problems in individual stores or geographic areas."

The layoffs and cutbacks followed recent news reports of sluggish June retail sales, "but that explanation doesn't wash with employees whose hours are already cut even though the stores are busy," Leonard, a 36-year veteran of the retail industry, claimed. "Anyone who works in retail understands the ebb and flow of sales, and the maxim that employees treat customers the same way they are treated by the company. Sam Walton knew that, but apparently his successors don't."

Citing a recent study in American Demographics that reported customer service is becoming increasingly important among households with incomes of less than $25,000, Leonard noted that Wal-Mart's lay-offs "could definitely hurt most in stores serving the chain's historic customer base."

"Bentonville is so driven by the demands of Wall Street that they've lost sight of consumer and employee satisfaction," the union organizer added. "The excessive demands on employees to do more to cover for laid-off co-workers and the added pressure brought by surly customers frustrated with protracted delays in check-out lines are reaching a critical mass. It is only a matter of time before it explodes into a wildfire of union activity."

Union officials report receiving the following anecdotes from employees:

-- Despite management claims in some stores that employee

seniority will count in lay-off decisions, in a Texas store a

10-year employee with numerous customer commendations was laid

off.

-- A Midwest warehouse club store is laying off anyone who

received a "Decision Day"/Wal-Mart's equivalent of a final

warning/in the past year.

-- A South Carolina store laid off 52 employees, and another store

rehired fired cashiers to save training costs after laying off

higher-paid cashiers.

-- Store managers are dodging repeated local news media calls

about the layoffs after disgruntled employees call the media.

-- Rather than following the traditional retail practice of

allowing normal attrition to take care of layoffs, many stores are

using the layoffs as an opportunity to trim payrolls by laying off

higher-paid employees while still hiring entry-level replacements.

-- Full-time employees having their hours cut to 20 and

part-timers reduced to one day a week. Employees being asked to

"volunteer" to get off early; or to "sacrifice" to keep the stock

price from dropping. Others are being told the cutbacks are due to

Kmart "rebounding instead of dying."

"Wal-Mart claims it is 'pro-associate,' as it calls its employees, but this round of layoffs and cutbacks is only proving to the workers that the so-called Open Door Policy is only a buzz word since management refuses to level with its 'associates' about what is happening," Leonard added. "The employees can't talk with management about this, so they are coming to the union in droves."

Leonard said that the union has no way to independently verify the rash of current Wal-Mart layoffs and cutbacks, but he attributed the increased confidence of employees in contacting the UFCW about workplace problems to recent steps the union took to guarantee the confidentiality of employee contacts with the union's two principal Web sites, www.walmartyrs.org and www.ufcw.org.

For more information, contact Greg Denier at 202/223-3111 or email: [e-mail].