Sam's Club Jettisons 250 Management Jobs

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s Sam's Club division is making changes to its club management structure in an effort to improve service, the company said yesterday. As a result of the new structure, about 250 associates will lose their jobs.

"We have created three new higher-level and higher-paying assistant manager positions and eliminated five lower-level management positions per location," said Sharon Orlopp, s.v.p. Sam's People Division, in a statement. "This new format will provide improved service for our members."

The move will consolidate around 2,800 salaried manager positions at about 580 U.S. Sam's Club stores.

Sam's Club spokeswoman Susan Koehler told Progressive Grocer, "While it's never easy for anyone to go through a transition, we anticipate better service, because we're going to be increasing the responsibility of a broader base of management to manage day-to-day operations as well as strategic initiatives for the clubs."

Orlopp stressed that the new structure is not a cost cutting effort, and that the company expects a slight increase in payroll after making the changes.

Orlopp said the company's goal is to find positions for all associates impacted by this change. "Some were promoted to the new higher paying positions, and some impacted by this change have voluntarily accepted severance. Based on our current trend, we anticipate approximately 250 of our more than 100,000 associates will not continue with the company," she said.

The transition is expected to be completed within the next couple of weeks.
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