Wal-Mart cuts 2,300 jobs at Sam’s Club

NEW YORK,  Jan 25 (Reuters): Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it had cut 2,300 jobs, or roughly 2 per cent of the total workforce at its Sam's Club retail warehouse chain, its biggest round of layoffs since 2010.
The action follows a lackluster US holiday season and layoffs announced earlier this month from US retailers Macy's Inc , JC Penney Co Inc and Target Corp.
Wal-Mart company spokesman Bill Durling said in a telephone interview that the cuts will include hourly workers and assistant manager positions.
"We're trying to rebalance our resources," Durling said.
Affected employees who are unable to find new positions at Sam's Club or Walmart will be eligible for severance, Durling said.
Wal-Mart is scheduled to report results from its holiday quarter on February 20. Shares in the world's biggest retailer closed down 0.7 per cent at $74.42 on a day when concerns over emerging markets prompted a broad Wall Street sell-off.
Macy's has said it plans to cut 2,500 jobs, or 1.4 per cent of its US workforce, but it said it expects to add positions for its growing online business, leaving overall staffing levels unchanged at about 175,000.