Walmart's Impact On The Economy

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Since the grand opening flyer was in the paper in July 2, 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, Walmart has routinely been in the news. From going public to stock splits, record sales to Black Friday mayhem, over the years the quantity of stories have grown exponentially. Any given day you can find a new story cropping up online that involves Walmart, whether directly or indirectly. Common themes over the years have been associated with wages and unions, crime, and employing strategies that drives down costs and can improve the customer experience.
Past News The first time Walmart used their power to make improvements in technology was in 1984. At the time there were only 15000 suppliers using barcodes on their product. When Walmart pushed for increased …show more content…

The study found that despite what the critics were saying, Walmart benefits the American economy. The study included 89 counties, examining retail employment, overall employment and personal income over 2 decades. The study revealed that growth in employment and personal income was greater during the time period in counties with a Walmart. When the study was released, 24% of Americans thought Walmart had a negative impact on the economy and 31% had an unfavorable opinion of the company according to a Pew poll. This topic is still debated …show more content…

A splinter group, trying to call themselves OUR Walmart, is taking issue with the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The trouble is UFCW actually owns the name and logo to OUR Walmart and is backing the original group. The splinter group, who claims they better represent the employees, has been asked to stop using the name. In September 2015, Walmart announced plans to hire 60,000 seasonal employees nationwide. Then on October 2, 2015 Walmart announced it was cutting 450 jobs at their headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas as part of a restructuring strategy. This year Walmart has been focusing on in-store employees with pay raises and job training. The new “Pathways” program utilizes computer simulation to provide more detailed, in-depth knowledge for employees rather than on-the-job training only. Walmart hopes that these measures will improve employee satisfaction, reduce turnover and increase productivity. While the pay increases, seasonal hires and job cuts are already in progress, the majority of stores will not be rolling out the Pathways program until next

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