Wal-Mart Cuts Some Workers’ Hours After Pay Raise Boosts Costs

Wal-Mart, in the midst of spending $1 billion to raise employees’ wages and give them extra training, has been cutting the number of hours some of them work in a bid to keep costs in check. Regional executives told store managers at the retailer’s annual holiday planning meeting last month to rein in expenses by cutting worker hours they’ve added beyond those allocated to them based on sales projections. The request has resulted in some stores trimming hours from their schedules, asking employees to leave shifts early or telling them to take longer lunches, according to more than three dozen employees from around the U.S.