Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) will lay off about 2,300 employees at its Sam's Club warehouse division, according to media reports on Friday. The job cuts, representing about 2 percent of Sam's Club workforce, are reportedly part of Walmart's efforts to improve efficiency at the business.
Walmart thus joins other retailers who are laying off employees after a lacklustre holiday season. The layoffs would reportedly target a combination of salaried assistant managers and hourly employees.
All affected workers will get 60 paid days to find another job at the company and if unsuccessful, will be eligible for severance. Sam's Club has about 116,000 employees.
Sam's Club recorded net sales of $14.08 billion during its third quarter ended October 25, 2013, representing a 1 percent increase from the prior-year period. The figure also represented more than 12 percent of the $114.88 billion in net sales attributed to Wal-Mart Stores as a whole for the period.
Sam's Club will also reportedly open at least 15 new stores over the course of the next fiscal year, which begins in February. This will add to its existing store count of 630.
In mid-January, JC Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) said it will close 33 under-performing stores and lay off 2,000 employees. A week prior to that, Macy's Inc. (M) said it plans to lay off about 2,500 jobs as part of its cost cutting measures.
Target Inc. (TGT) has said it plans to close eight U.S. stores on May 3, 2014.
Walmart is slated to release its financial results for the fourth quarter that includes the crucial holiday season on February 19.
WMT closed Friday's regular trading session at $74.42, down $0.54 or 0.72 percent on a volume of 9.46 million shares. In after-hours, the stock further declined $0.12 or 0.16 percent to $74.30.
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