Sam's Club layoffs hit 2,300 workers. Why?

Sam's Club layoffs are the biggest since 2010. Wal-Mart officials say the Sam's Club layoffs will hit hourly workers and assistant manager positions.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it had cut 2,300 jobs, or roughly 2 percent of the total workforce at its Sam's Club retail warehouse chain, its biggest round of layoffs since 2010.

The action follows a lackluster U.S. holiday season and layoffs announced earlier this month from U.S. retailers Macy's Inc, J.C. Penney Co Inc and Target Corp.

Wal-Mart company spokesman Bill Durling said in a telephone interview that the cuts will include hourly workers and assistant manager positions.
"We're trying to rebalance our resources," Durling said.

Affected employees who are unable to find new positions at Sam's Club or Walmart will be eligible for severance, Durling said. Sam's Club has about 116,000 US employees.

Wal-Mart is scheduled to report results from its holiday quarter on Feb. 20. Shares in the world's biggest retailer closed down 0.7 percent at $74.42 on a day when concerns over emerging markets prompted a broad Wall Street sell-off.

Macy's has said it plans to cut 2,500 jobs, or 1.4 percent of its U.S. workforce, but it said it expects to add positions for its growing online business, leaving overall staffing levels unchanged at about 175,000.

J.C. Penney said it would close 33 stores and eliminate 2,000 jobs as part of its efforts to return to profitability. For its part, Target said it would cut 475 jobs at its headquarters and other offices in Minnesota and will not fill 700 open positions worldwide.