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This is in sharp contrast to the plans of other retailers such
as Target Corp and Macy's Inc, which have said they would
hire thousands of more workers during the busiest shopping
season of the year.
"These extra hours will help staff traditional roles like
cashier and stocker, and newly created technology-empowered
positions such as personal shoppers and Pickup associates,"
Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer Judith McKenna said in a
statement.
"This is the same approach we took last year, and we heard great
feedback from our customers and associates," she said.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer also plans to revive
its "Holiday Helper" program by increasing the number of
"helpers" in stores this season.
"Helpers" are employees dedicated to assisting customers get
through the stores faster by finding the shortest checkout line,
opening registers and grabbing items customers might have
forgotten.
Several analysts have noted that retailers have in recent years
lost sight of basic in-store customer needs as they scrambled to
compete better with Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> by cutting costs
through store closures, offering more mark-downs and pouring
millions into building out e-commerce platforms.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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