Report: CSA Prepping Staff For Walmart Layoffs

Cameron Smith & Associates, the executive recruiting firm headquartered in Rogers, is preparing its staff with a plan of action in the event of corporate layoffs in the offing at the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. home office, according to a report published Wednesday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

CSA owner Cameron Smith believes as many as 1,000 employees could be laid off at the home office in Bentonville, according to the report, which included details of a company memo circulated at CSA, dated July 27, and obtained by the ADG.

“Please remember, these people are our neighbors and friends. You have a skill that will be very much in need when this goes down. You are experts in the job market and you know what it takes to get hired. This is a time for us to step up and do what we can to help,” the memo said.

ADG reporter Chris Bahn wrote that Walmart management, including CEO Doug McMillon, has made public remarks of being too bureaucratic at the headquarters level, and the company added $1 billion for employee wages and training initiatives to its budget this year with more raises coming in February. 

A Walmart spokesman told the ADG that the company was evaluating its management structure, but that further speculation would be premature.

Walmart has more than 20,000 employees at its headquarters.