Wal-Mart confirmed Monday it has cut more than 700 jobs across its Canadian operations this month as it re-organizes management at stores.
Affected employees were “in particular roles, and those particular roles as a result of this new structure don’t exist anymore,” Andrew Pelletier, vice-president of corporate affairs, said.
“In some cases, some departmental roles were eliminated and other ‘co-manager’ roles were created,” Pelletier said.
As part of the plan, the discount chain says it has promoted 1,300 store associates to “more senior positions” and put in 200 employees in new store management roles.
The shake up comes as Wal-Mart is competing aggressively against Canadian supermarket chains to win a bigger slice of consumers’ grocery budgets, as well as keep price-conscious shoppers from straying to newcomer Target.
READ MORE: Wal-Mart is winning more grocery business in Canada
The rival U.S. discount chain has opened 127 stores across Canada over the last year. A disappointing first 12 months however has forced Target to make its own changes, and analysts suggest the chain is moving now to introduce more attractive prices for shoppers.
Looming price battle?
But Wal-Mart appears ready for a price battle.
In its quarterly report, Wal-Mart said it continues to “invest” in lower prices in products at Canadian stores – a term retailers use to put a positive slant on the hit they take to their own pocket when they cut prices.
The price cuts mean many goods remain cheaper than what’s found at Target or Canadian counterparts, Wal-Mart said. “Our continued price investment resulted in an increased price gap to competitors,” the company said earlier this month.
Walmart Canada has also been investing heavily in an ongoing roll-out of its “supercentres” that support grocery sales. About 250 of its 380 Canadian stores now sell food items.
Pelletier said he expects some workers let go this month to re-apply for new roles at Wal-Mart Canada, which employs about 95,000 people.
“Because we’re a growth company, our expectation is that a lot of the people whose roles were eliminated will choose to re-apply for other jobs,” Pelletier said.
Here’s Wal-Mart Canada’s statement:
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