Walmart gets $2 billion windfall from the GOP tax scam — then lays off workers

At the same time Walmart is raking in cash from the GOP tax scam, it’s laying off hundreds of workers.

The company just announced it would be laying off 569 people in Charlotte, North Carolina because it is outsourcing its finance and accounting operations. A “professional services firm” in Walmart’s home state of Arkansas will take over those duties instead.

Walmart issued a statement about the layoffs, saying that as the company evolves, “we must strike the right balance between managing the needs of our business, our associates and our customers.”

But thanks to Trump’s massive tax giveaway to Walmart, the company really shouldn’t need to “strike the right balance” by letting people go. Walmart has plenty of extra money right now.

Data from December 2018 showed that the tax cuts gave Walmart an extra $1.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2018 alone. Estimates show that Walmart could see a savings of $2.2 billion every year.

This isn’t even the first time Walmart has cut workers since receiving a windfall from the Trump tax cuts. In January 2018 — even as Trump was touting Walmart as an example of “Great news as a result of our TAX CUTS & JOBS ACT!” — the company announced it was closing 63 Sam’s Club stores and laying off thousands of people.

And it isn’t just Walmart. Kimberly-Clark bragged that the tax savings would be “the equivalent of a 6% increase in earnings,” but then turned around and decided to cut 5,000 jobs. Qualcomm announced a $10 billion stock buyback, which benefits wealthy shareholders, while cutting 1,500 jobs in California.

Meanwhile, the head of Walmart, Doug McMillon, earned $22.8 million last year — and he’s got the ear of the Trump administration. He sits on Trump’s advisory council on workers that is woefully short on workers, but long on rich CEOs. Besides McMillion, the CEOs of Apple, Visa, Lockheed Martin, and Home Depot are members of the council. All of them rake in millions of dollars per year.

Trump’s team only listens to rich people and only rewards rich people. These Walmart layoffs are just the latest example of this, but they certainly won’t be the last.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.