Walmart cuts store hours until further notice in response to coronavirus pandemic - MarketWatch

Walmart Inc. will cut operating hours at its stores and Neighborhood Markets until further notice starting Sunday.

Walmart WMT, +9.65% stores and the company’s Neighborhood Markets chain will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The move affects 2,200 stores nationwide, though workers will keep their day and evening shifts, the company said.

There are 4,700 Walmart and Neighborhood Market stores across the U.S.

Any store that had been operating with reduced hours, whether closing at 10 p.m. or opening at 7 a.m., will continue to do so.

Walmart’s stores are typically open 24 hours a day. The retail giant said previously that it was taking steps against the coronavirus outbreak, including increased sanitizing of stores and continued pay for quarantined workers or those who fall ill.

A Walmart worker in Kentucky has tested positive for coronavirus.

Walmart is allowing store managers to limit per-customer sales on certain items that are in unusually high demand.

“We’ve got a lot of categories that have seen extraordinary growth levels in the past few weeks,” Walmart U.S. Chief Executive John Furner said in a video statement. “This started in over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, then food and consumables, and now it’s moving into our food businesses.”

Furner went on to acknowledge the work that employees are doing to manage staffing and supply-chain operations during the pandemic. Worker groups, however, say Walmart should do more.

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Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon along with rival Target Corp.’s TGT, +9.06% chief executive, Brian Cornell, stood with other executives beside President Trump at a Rose Garden press conference on Friday and announced plans to make space in their store parking lots available for coronavirus testing.

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“We support Walmart’s effort to accelerate testing, but retail workers, customers and the general public need the company to do more to protect public health inside the stores with comprehensive paid-sick-days policies and health-care coverage,” said Mendy Hughes, a leader of United for Respect and a decade-long Walmart employee, in a statement.

“Trump’s choice to parade big retail and pharma CEOs in front of the country shows that his administration and corporate America will be looking out for each other, not working people and our families, in this crisis.”

There are few details about how the program is expected to work.

Like other retailers, Target has stepped up its cleaning and sanitizing efforts, and, as of March 7, the retailer put buying limits on certain in-demand items like hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. Food sampling has been temporarily suspended.

For workers, the absenteeism policy has been waived, and up to 14 days of quarantine and confirmed-illness pay is offered along with backup day care, virtual medical visits and other benefits.

Nike Inc. NKE, +1.86% has also announced that it is closing all of its stores in multiple countries including the U.S., Western Europe and Canada starting March 16 through March 27. Nike-owned stores in most of China, Japan and South Korea remain open.

Walmart stock has gained 16% in the past year as Target’s stock has rallied nearly 32%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +9.36% is down 10.3%, and the S&P 500 index SPX, +9.28% has slipped 4%.

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2020-03-15 18:30:46Z
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