Is it such a big deal if a company decides to cap the wages of its workforce and shift the hours of a large percentage of its workforce to part-time so they will not be given health benefits? Well, yes if the company is the nation's leading private employer, with 1.3 million (yes) workers. More to come on this topic.
14 comments:
I believe firmly in Wal-Mart’s right to cut and slash benefits, to destroy worker moral, to shift labor markets and cap wages, and to use foreign factories to produce products more cheaply at the expense of poverty stricken inhabitants of developing nations. The fact is that Wal-mart is running a business and they can use any legal tactic to get ahead (or further ahead) of competition. With that being said I also firmly believe in the right for the work force at Wal-mart to unionize, strike, or quit. Wal-mart does not force anyone to work for it, so therefore anyone who chooses to work there does so under the pretence that Wal-mart does not care about them. If they feel that the wages, hours, and treatment, are inadequate then why did they accept the offer of work. I also feel that it is acceptable recourse to decide that because of Wal-marts business strategies it would be unacceptable to shop there, and if that is the case for enough people it will cease to be profitable for Wal-mart to use said strategies. I refuse to let the damn pinko liberals decide what morals Wal-mart need posses.
Well thank you for that level headed reponse. I hope you will not have to work for a wage that is insufficient to pay the health care premiums that you will need to pay. But I digress...
It seems to me that walmart is merely trying to increase its already tremendous profits. and isnt that the goal of any business? i agree with evan in that it is fine for them as a business to up thier profits even if they cut wages. i also think however that morally it isnt right and that the wlmart exacutives should have more respect for the workes that make their company one of the richest in the united states. if they do too much then they will most likely harm the producer/ consumer relationship that keeps them as profitable as they have been.
While it is true that Walmart is trying to increase its capital just like any other normal business would, it seems unfair to cut benefits to so many people. Also cutting benefits may cause the workers to have less incentive to work longer hours and at a faster pace. Because Walmart is making most of its large work force part time it seems as though it will affect the economy greatly as many will lose their incomes and benefits.
wal-marts taking over the world...and doing a good job at it
Honestly, who takes advantage of old people like that. Walmart is just trying to increase its profits, and not think about it in the long run. What if that was the old mans last job, he killed himself the next day. I dont agree with the use of cutting wages to increase profit, with people that have been on the job for years.
While it's understandable that Wal-Mart would want its employees to serve its customers in the best way possible, is cutting back their time really the answer? Millions of people hold full time jobs, so why not the soon to be 40% of Wal-Mart employees? Do the top Wal-Mart execs really think that reducing employees hours will help to better serve their customers?
I think that's bologna! The more logical explanation is that Wal-Mart doesn't want to have to offer as many of its employees the various benefits it has in the past, because it means less profit for the company. I'm all for being progressive and maximizing profit, but esp. in Wal-Mart's case, it isn't nessecary to crush its employees on the way to the top.
And as far as Evan's comment...
Wal-Mart is an enormous company with numerous options as far as how to "get ahead of competition". Saving money by avoiding paying for employee benefits may be financially smart, but it is socially irresponsible. If you work part-time at Wal-Mart, you can only work part-time somewhere else, which leaves you with no benefits at all. Wal-Mart employs 1.3 million people. Therefore, by the time 40% of its employees are working part-time, 520,000 people will be living without health benefits of any kind, due to Wal-Mart. The fact that Wal-Mart's employees are probably also its target customers, makes their motives even more offensive.
i understand that Wal-Mart wants to make as much money as possible, it is however unfair to expect to cut your employees wages and expect them to come to work with a good attitude to better serve their customers
By cutting back people's hours is not the best idea for Wal-Mart to prosper. In order to serve the customers better, there should be more full time workers. Full time workers become more experienced and are able to satisfied custumers with all their needs.
"All's fair in love and war," but not this time. I think that it is nonsense for Wal-Mart to cap the wages of its workforce. Wal-Mart is just looking to expand itself in a business standpoint without realizing the negatives in doing so. The exectutives are only looking in the present with a decision like this, but what about the future? This could end up potentially hurting the biggest chain store the world has ever seen. If the wage cut goes into effect, Wal-Mart could see a lot of the full time employees quitting and the part-time ones not lasting that long. Fewer people will be applying to work at Wal-Mart, unless they feel their pay is high enough. This could cause the store to have its wages right back where they were before there even was a wage cut.
i do not agree with wal-mart's decision to cut wages. after all wal-mart is a muti bilion dollar company. I understand their desire to make more of a profit, but to take away from the people who need the money the most, work hard for it, and most likely spend money at the store i think that is unethical. also like laura said, how are the employees going to come to work with a good attitude now that their wages have decreased, i'm sure from the start they weren't getting extravagant paychecks in the first place.
Wal-Mart is just trying to increase its profits. If its employees feel that it is unfair for their hours to get cut they can find another job. Cutting back full time workers will not harm the friendly Wal-Mart atmosphere (just ask Novalee Nation...yeah, sadly that was a "Where the Heart is" reference). Increasing the amount of part time employees to 40%, will create more jobs for teenagers (working after school and weekends). And the customer satisfaction will always stay high because the best thing about Wal-Mart isn't it's great prices, it's the friendly old guy who greets you as you walk in the door. And an old guy is one of the top three people you want to be greeted by (1. very attractive female, 2. John Candy).
Wal-Mart wants to make a high profit, it is however unfair to cut your employees wages and benefits to accomplish this.Maby they should look at some alternative money saving methods because without happy and satasfied workers....wal mart will fail.
Post a Comment