Walmart Plans Layoffs

Walmart is reportedly laying off hundreds of workers at five U.S. e-commerce fulfillment centers, as the world’s largest retailer responds to declining consumer demand and overall jitters about the U.S. economy and a potential recession.

Citing a comment from spokesperson for the retailer, Reuters reported that about 200 workers in Pedricktown, New Jersey, were let go due to staff reductions or eliminations in evening and weekend shifts. The news agency said similar changes also affect hundreds of other Walmart workers in Fort Worth, Texas; Chino, California; Davenport, Florida; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The Reuters report said workers are being asked to find jobs within 90 days at other company locations. Representatives of Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart did not immediately respond to a request from CoStar News to comment.

Retailers in January and February announced 17,456 job cuts, far above the 761 reductions in the same period of 2022, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported this month.

March numbers haven’t been fully tallied, but Challenger said layoffs by U.S.-based companies in all industries totaled more than 180,000 in January and February, much higher than the 34,000 cuts in the first two months of 2022. The biggest portion of layoffs have been announced by technology firms, including Walmart’s biggest e-commerce rival, Amazon.

New Home Sales Rise

Sales of new single-family homes rose 1.1% in February over the prior month to 640,000 units, the Commerce Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Thursday.

Unit sales were down 19% from February 2022 as many prospective buyers, including apartment renters, remained on the sidelines while waiting for lower prices and interest rates.

“Builders continue to face challenges in terms of higher interest rates, elevated construction costs and access to critical materials like electrical transformers,” said Alicia Huey, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders trade group, in a Thursday statement on the government numbers.

“Nonetheless, the lack of existing home inventory means demand for new homes will rise as interest rates decline over the coming quarters,” Huey said.

The government data on new homes arrived after the National Association of Realtors this week announced a 14.5% rise in sales of existing homes for February, ending a year-long series of monthly declines, though the median sales price dropped on a year-over-year basis.

Jobless Claims Decline

Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 1,000 for the week that ended March 18 compared with the prior week, with the total 191,000 claims remaining low by historical standards amid a resilient employment market, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

With the unemployment rate still low at 3.6% as of February, the four-week moving average for initial claims was 196,250, a decrease of 250 from the previous week.

Continuing claims in all programs, tracked on a more delayed basis, totaled approximately 1.9 million for the week ended March 4. That was down 61,496 from the prior week but slightly higher than the 1.8 million total in the comparable week of 2022.

Unemployment claims remain relatively low despite rising layoff announcements this year in several industries, especially technology. But employers are still struggling to fill vacant positions in industries such as food service and construction.