CHINA-WAL-MART.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is restructuring its staff in China , which may result in pay cuts and possibly job losses affecting roughly 2.5% of its local work force, or about 1,400 people.
The changes will trim Wal-Mart’s current five-tier management system, primarily cutting jobs at the middle-manager level, forcing employees to relocate to other stores in neighboring areas or face reduced salaries or possibly dismissals, said the company.
Wal-Mart says these moves are meant to improve efficiency and maintain growth. "There are no layoffs. If someone wants to go somewhere else, that is their decision," said Jonathan Dong, a spokesman for Wal-Mart in China .
Despite the global financial crisis, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has continued to expand in China , one of its fastest growing markets. It opened 23 stores in the country so far this year, a faster expansion than last year, when it opened a total of 30 stores. As of March 31, the company has 246 retail units in China , including Wal-Mart supercenters, bulk discounter Sam’s Club and Trust-Mart hypermarkets, a Taiwanese chain in which Wal-Mart took a 35% stake two years ago. Wal-Mart has more than 54,000 employees in China , not including its stake in Trust-Mart.
Like other retailers in China , however, the Bentonville, Arkansas , chain has been forced to discount heavily to maintain shopping traffic. In February the company posted a 7.4% fall in fiscal fourth-quarter net income to $3.79 billion, including a $250 million aftertax charge to settle lawsuits alleging the company underpaid employees.
