Sam's Club, the warehouse club division of Walmart Stores, is cutting about 11,200 jobs as it outsources its in-store demonstrations.
The cuts represent about 10 percent of the warehouse club operator's 110,000 staffers across its 600 stores. There are 22 across North Carolina, including four in the Triangle in Raleigh, Morrisville and Durham.
Sam's spokeswoman Susan Koehler said none of this region's stores will close but that on average, the number of employees per store that were affected was 15 to 20. Nationwide, the cuts include 10,000 workers, mostly part-timers, who offer food samples and showcase products to customers. The company also eliminated 1,200 workers who recruit new members.
Employees were told the news at mandatory meetings on Sunday morning.
Shopper Events, based in Rogers, Ark., currently works with Walmart's namesake stores on in-store demonstrations. Sam's Club is looking to the company to improve sampling in areas such as electronics, personal wellness products and food items to entice shoppers to spend more.
Sam's Club has underperformed the Walmart chain in the U.S. and abroad.
"In the club channel, demo sampling events are a very important part of the experience," said Sam's Club CEO Brian Cornell in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "Shopper Events specializes in this area and they can take our sampling program to the next level."
Cornell took the helm at Sam's Club on April 3 last year and has been looking for ways to boost its sales and increase its membership ranks. Members pay an annual fee to shop in its clubs and get discounts on everything from bulk-sized packages of toilet paper to raspberries.
Brian Pear, general manager for Shopper Events, said his company would hire about the same number of employees being let go by Sam's Club. But he said there was no guarantee it would hire former Sam's Club employees to fill the positions.
Cornell and Pear declined to disclose terms of the deal.
The latest job cuts come after Sam's Club said earlier this month that 1,500 jobs would be lost as it closed 10 money-losing stores.
At Walmart's meeting for analysts in October, Cornell said that Sam's Club was shifting its focus from opening new clubs to remodeling existing ones as it works to increase sales.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or
Comments
no need for SAMS CLUB.
Thu, 03/25/2010 - 02:11 — grumpygringoAll they do is hire mexicans and have minoritie customers in the Denver locations who rip off personnal items out of buggies when you aren't looking. I called police at store near broadway and alameda and the manager and police dept said they had ""THE" person's club member # when she checked out, but they couldnt tell me who it was , I didnt want to know, just wanted my stuff back. I figured I would let Sams club and police take care of that part . Never got a call back from either one. Must have my blond hair and blue eyes .
That lousy RACIST company deserves to go awsay.The sooner the better. Too dirty. Plain and simple. And as far as their food demonstrators, all they ever do is look at you dirty if youy are white, or have a sign in front of their servers table saying "be back in 15 minutes which is really lot longer than that. Firing Servers??? They never really had any in the past 5 years that I can recall, even when they said they did. They arent firing them because they never had/have any. Sams Club deserves to go out of business. It gave itself away to minorities. LITERALLY. Who work like government workers most of time if that. and they deserve to go out of business. Businesses that run on race color or any of that other junk dont deserve a decent customer like me, or the rest that shop Costco instead. Maybe all their relatives should shop there so they can stay in business but what do I know. Probably that Sams club presents itself as a tolerant of all company when we all know they are NOT. They also put returned items back back on shelf. I know . I brought my A.C. back that didnt work worth a ___ and the next day it was marked 10 % off and no refund/return. It wasn't worth 10% of the price much less 90%. They are about as generic a company as it gets. And their guacomole and salsa are two to three dollars higher than more than Costco just to name a few I noticed as of late (like we too stupid to know better). Must be the price affirmitive action. Aint getting my money for that trash.I hate that damn place and again they deserve to out of business . They are run wrong and too stupid and ignorant to know it. And besides, they got the prettier (Not racially motivated and cleaner) Mexican girls working at Costco. This is what brings in customers. Customer service and Sams is CLUELESS We dont care to be bothered with race junk, not in our PRESENT FREE MARKET ATLEAST. There must be a total TOTALLY different executive running WalMart than there is Sams Club because it is really obvious.