Wal-Mart denies Chinese management change halted
BEIJING — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. denied Tuesday a Chinese state media report that a plan to reassign Chinese managers has been halted due to objections from local unions.
Wal-Mart said last week it would reduce the number of managers at its 145 stores in China and would move as many as 1,400 to other stores.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday that the plan was halted after unions objected.
A Wal-Mart spokesman, Jonathan Dong, denied the report and expressed surprise, saying employees have asked questions but no one has objected.
“It’s not stopped,” he said. “We need to open new stores and we need experienced people to help open new stores.”
China is one of the only countries where Wal-Mart employees are represented by unions. The company agreed to cooperate with the state-sanctioned All-China Federation of Trade Unions after a lengthy campaign by the body. Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, has resisted efforts to organize unions at its stores in the United States.
Xinhua cited a trade union federation official in the northeastern city of Changchun as saying that many managers objected to the possibility of being transferred to other cities or being demoted.
“The company actually wants us to leave,” a manager named Yang Zhongtian was quoted as saying.
Xinhua said managers of four stores in Changchun were summoned to the office of the labor group, which urged them to halt the plan.
China is one of the fastest-growing markets for Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer. Despite the global economic slump, it has opened 23 new outlets in China this year, according to Dong. The company employs more than 50,000 people in China.
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: www.walmartstores.com
Wal-Mart China: www.wal-martchina.com
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