Walmart was a proponent of Obamacare and its increasingly clear why, the retailer is shifting health care costs and responsibility to the state. It’s creepy move that has a lot of people upset, but it’s not illegal. But it very well could backfire. I don’t cover healthcare, but I know retail. Benefits and pay are moving targets and payroll gets manipulated depending on the weather (as weather actually impacts sales). In 2005, Walmart was pressured to provide health benefits to part-time workers and its closest competitor Target TGT -0.8% quickly followed suit. In December, after backing Obamacare, Walmart announced it would no longer insure part time workers (Target still does). Since then, its part-time ranks have swelled, according to reports. But so too have complaints about understaffed stores with empty shelves and inventory piling up in warehouses and back rooms. It seems even Walmart can’t operate on such a lean staff. Dirty stores, parking lots in disarray and out-of stocks don’t bode well for sales and stores can’t operate that way for long periods. Walmart doesn’t easily give in to pressure, but it does give in to market forces. A direct hit to its top line could change this policy.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:01:35 +0000