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Wal-Mart workers say goodbye to predictable work schedules as the retail giant squeezes the last drop Those who thought that Wal-Mart was already treating its US workers so badly that the bottom had been reached were mistaken. Just after the Christmas holidays, the Bentonville supermarket giant announced yet another turn in its downward spiral of 'walmartizing' working and employment conditions. Now, everyone working for the retail behemoth has to be prepared to jump in and out of the job, responding to the number of customers in the stores. Predictable work schedules are now a thing of the past for Wal-Mart's American workers. Instead, they will see their working schedules being drawn up by a new software application that is based of fluctuations in customer traffic. It is obvious that this can also cut down the total numbers of working hours, which automatically means a cut in pay as well. Last year, Wal-Mart hit hard on its workers' pay by setting a cap on how much they would be able to earn. This meant that many older employees had to say a final goodbye to any prospects of ever reaching an income that would be in relation to the years they had served. Some months earlier, another memo had leaked to the press, which clearly showed that the company wanted to get rid of workers who because of their age or their physical condition could come to cost money through medical expenses. It is not hard to add these and other Wal-Mart labour conditions elements together and draw the conclusion that the Bentonville-driven Walmartization of working life is fast approaching the stage where the last cosmetic facade falls off and Wal-Mart workers are openly treated as the expandable means of production that they in fact are for this company.
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