There are plenty of American workers who can do these “professional service” jobs our corporations seem to outsource every day.
Look, we saw what happened with our manufacturing base and we see it happening with our computer science professionals (who routinely have to train their unqualified foreign replacements) and now we are seeing it with many other industries.
570 finance and accounting professionals will lose their jobs because Walmart, a hugely profitable American company who just got billions with the GOP tax plan, wants to make a little more money.
American workers = unprofitable in these companies eyes and that needs to change before the entire country gets hollowed out like the rust belt.
From The Charlotte Observer: Walmart will lay off nearly 570 corporate employees at its facility near Charlotte’s airport as the retailer transitions its finance and accounting services to a third-party vendor.
The layoffs will begin in September and will continue in waves through early 2020, Walmart said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice filed with the state last week. All affected workers have been notified, Walmart said.
Walmart said it will maintain a “solid presence” at its Charlotte corporate offices near the airport, although the company would not say how many. The company has 216 stores in North Carolina under the Walmart and Sam’s Club banner, and it employs more than 56,000 statewide.
The third-party vendor that will handle the finance and accounting work is Genpact, a publicly traded financial services firm with headquarters in New York. Walmart says Genpact will place some of the accounting and finance positions at the retailer’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., and some others will be outside the U.S. (although Walmart would not say where.)
Walmart is “a strong company undergoing a period of great transformation,” the Arkansas retail giant said in the WARN filing. To compete in the current competitive retail environment, Walmart has to be willing to “pull back” in some areas to invest in others, the company said. Partnering with Genpact, Walmart says, is a way to accelerate the company’s “digital transformation.”
“As our company continues evolving, we’ve said we must strike the right balance between managing the needs of our business, our associates and our customers,” spokeswoman Robyn Babbitt said in an email.
The company said it has provided impacted employees with support, including outplacement services and benefits assistance.
From Bizjournals: Retail giant Walmart Inc. will lay off hundreds in Charlotte starting later this year as it outsources its finance and accounting operations.
The retailer filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the N.C. Department of Commerce this week, stating a permanent closure of a Walmart division in Water Ridge will result in about 569 layoffs. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) signed a 12-year lease in 2015 to occupy the full 107,545-square-foot building at 2118 Water Ridge Parkway, where it operates several units, including finance and accounting.
The work done by the affected divisions are being outsourced to Genpact (NYSE: G), a professional services firm that last year opened a digital innovation hub in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart’s headquarters city. A news release from Genpact in November said the company was working with Walmart “to transform (its) finance and accounting back-office operations.”
Layoffs in Charlotte are expected to begin in September and continue until early 2020. Walmart submitted a statement to the Charlotte Business Journal regarding the layoffs:
“This was a difficult decision that affects friends and associates we care about deeply. We appreciate their important contributions, and we’re committed to handling every transition over the next seven months smoothly and respectfully. We are maintaining a corporate presence in Charlotte. As our company continues evolving, we’ve said we must strike the right balance between managing the needs of our business, our associates and our customers.”
Robyn Babbitt, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said several corporate jobs will remain in Charlotte and at Water Ridge. A people services division as well as a regional office for Walmart also operate out of the Water Ridge building. It was not immediately clear how many Walmart employees work there.
“Our customers are changing the way they shop, which requires us to change how we work,” wrote Derek Scott, senior associate general council for Walmart Inc., in the WARN notice. “To compete in this new era of retail, we must be willing to pull back in some areas to invest in others.
All affected employees have been notified, the WARN letter states. Impacted employees will receive a severance if eligible and a retention payment if they stay on until the end of their transition period. Walmart also will provide resume and skills training, job fairs and opportunities to apply for other positions within the company, Babbitt said.
