by Timothy Rutt
Now that the confusion has been cleared between ACONA and representatives of Walmart Neighborhood Market, here are the remaining questions submitted by ACONA. Randy Terrell of Passantino Andersen Communications, Walmart's public relations firm, compiled the answers from Walmart representatives and sent them to Elliot Gold on Nov. 6:
1. Do you plan on opening a store on Lake and Calaveras?
While we don't have any new sites to announce in Altadena, we're always evaluating new opportunities to be closer to our customers and be part of the solution for affordable groceries.
2. Will guns and/or ammo be sold at this Neighborhood Market?
No.
3. Employee Work Schedules?
In retail, you’re always looking for ways to best serve our customers during the times they choose to shop – typically mornings, evenings and weekends. This includes scheduling associates during those peak times when customers are in the stores. As part of our commitment to using technology and innovation we’ve implemented an automated scheduling system to create a better shopping and working experience for our customers and associates. Our scheduling system is designed to build associates schedules around the times they tell us they are available. We work with associates to accommodate their scheduling requests whenever possible.
4. How many full and part-time jobs will be offered?
Walmart employs a mix of full- and part-time positions. While we don’t share specific breakdowns, I can tell you that the majority of our Associates in Southern California are full-time.
5. How many employees will be hired at a management level? Will any Altadena's be hired to fill management positions? How many employees will be hired at the "associate" level? How many Altadena “associates” will be hired?
Walmart refers to its employees as Associates. This Neighborhood Market will hire approximately 65 full- and part-time associates. The number of management positions at this location has not been determined yet but stores typically have a store manager and a team of assistant managers and department managers to assist in properly running the store. In most of our Southern California stores, the majority of our associates are local. We place an emphasis on hiring from the community and will soon begin that process in Altadena similar to our experience in other communities throughout the region. Once we start the hiring process, we’ll review applicants for jobs like store management, pharmacy, personnel, customer service, cashiers and sales associates. It is important to note that last year, Walmart promoted more than 161,000 people and nearly three fourths of our store management team started out in hourly positions. More than 300,000 of our U.S. associates have been with the company for more than 10 years.
6. Beyond jobs and inexpensive food, what are the big issues Wal-Mart thinks matter to Altadenans and how does Wal-Mart plan to address them?
We’re proud of the contributions we make in communities across Southern California and we look forward to continuing the conversation with the community about our plans in Altadena. For example, our new Walmart Neighborhood Market will revitalize an empty building, employ approximately 65 people and serve as a new option for fresh, affordable food. What’s more, last year alone we gave more than $33 million in cash and in-kind gifts to communities throughout California, supporting non-profits like food banks, job development organizations, veterans groups, and educational programs. In addition to national and state giving programs, Walmart stores are able to support the needs of their local communities by providing funding to organizations working to improve the lives of our associates, customers and neighbors. We expect to have a similar positive impact here in Altadena.
NOTE: An earlier version of the story said that Randy Terrell composed the answers. He emailed us to say he actually complied them from Walmart representatives. That correction has been made in the story.
