And there are still those who believe that we all have equal
opportunity in this wonderful Corporate Capitalist Land of Plenty.
Back in the 1800's such people were called, "No Nothings". Of course,
one fellow pointed out that they may be the No Nothings, but they do
know how to breed.
Carl Jarvis
On 3/11/18, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://themilitant.com/2018/8211/821156.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 82/No. 11 March 19, 2018
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Hammered by stiffening competition from retail giants Walmart and
Amazon, department store chain J.C. Penney is making moves to stay
afloat by targeting its workers’ hours, wages and benefits.
The company plans to eliminate most full-time jobs, converting them to
part-time positions, the New York Post reported Feb. 27. Formerly
full-time employees will be cut to 25 hours a week from 35. “On top of
giving it more staffing flexibility,” the Post says, “the move to a
part-time sales staff allows JC Penney to cut costs, since part-timers
don’t qualify for health benefits.”
The company says it also plans to hire additional part-timers. This
means they can give them a few hours on busy evenings and parts of the
weekend. To make room for them, the company laid off 360 workers March 2.
“I’ve been working part time, getting up to 25 hours on a good week, for
the three years that I’ve been here,” one worker employed at the J.C.
Penney store in Manhattan Mall in New York, who asked that her name not
be used, told me. “All the workers here are part time, except for
managers and supervisors. When this store opened, a lot of people worked
here, but that’s been cut back a lot.”
These moves by J.C. Penney come amid sharpening competition in retail as
brick and mortar stores are battered by expanding sales online. The
weaker store chains — like Macy’s, Kmart, Target, Kohl’s, Payless Shoes
and others — have been forced to retrench and malls are closing. And
they all face declining profits as they try to compete with the industry
behemoths Walmart and Amazon, who, in turn, are at each other’s throats.
There’s a little more optimism today because an uptick in the economy
has boosted sales at some stores. But last year industry bosses
announced some 7,000 retail store closures nationwide, eliminating tens
of thousands of workers. J.C. Penney shut nearly 140 of its over 1,000
stores, and has said another eight stores and one of its fulfillment
centers will close over the next few months, eliminating over 1,000 more
jobs.
As the industry’s bleeding continues, many retail bosses are looking for
some niche they can fill to keep going and generate profit. Target is
incorporating CVS pharmacies and, in some stores, mini-Starbucks. Kohl’s
just made a deal with German-owned Aldi to start selling groceries in
some of its stores.
Kohl’s could have trouble though, since arch-competitor Walmart is the
largest purveyor of groceries on the planet.
One niche J.C. Penney bosses are hoping to boost is its beauty
department. The company just announced it would hire 6,500 stylists to
expand its hair salons.
Related articles:
On the Picket Line
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