You know things are getting pretty bad when Walmart starts to lay off employees. CEO Mike Duke announced yesterday that Walmart would lay off approximately 700 – 800 employees from the Walmart home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart has always been a stronghold here in the Northwest Arkansas area and I’m sure it’s one of the hardest decisions CEO Mike Duke will have to make.
With 2.2 million employees worldwide, 700 – 800 seems like a small number. When you take into consideration what it does to the local economy, it takes on a whole new meaning. The most recent economic reports indicate that the 3rd quarter of 2008 saw a slight decrease in Bentonville’s unemployment rate to 4.11% from 4.52% in 2007. The Walmart layoffs will have a definitive impact on both the economy and the unemployment rate.
Even with the layoffs, Walmart spokesman David Tovar says the company plans to add employees at retail stores across the country, according to the Associated Press. Since most of the layoffs are coming from the home office in Bentonville, the skill level of the newly unemployed is probably a little higher than that of a retail worker. Nonetheless, I wonder if Walmart tried offered the jobs to the ones they’re letting go. It would be at least somewhat of an initiative. I wouldn’t expect many of them to take jobs in a California or New York Walmart, but it would be an excellent gesture.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what it does to our local economy. Northwest Arkansas is a strong community. I believe that if there’s one community in the country that can beat the odds, it’s Northwest Arkansas!