If Employers Like Staples Use Obamacare as Excuse to Cut Worker Hours, Their Plans May Backfire

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http://www.alternet.org/economy/staples-and-obamacare



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Let’s try to sort this out.

Too Early To Tell

First of all, it’s really too early to tell what kind of impact Obamacare is going to have on the jobs market. Economic analysts across the political spectrum seem to agree on this point. Conservative economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s told the New York Times that he doesn’t see any impact yet, and progressive economist Dean Baker said in a recent congressional hearing that there’s not much evidence to support the claim that the law is having an effect on workers’ hours.

True, there’s been a recessionary trend of employers moving workers from full- to part-time, but this can be explained by weak demand for goods and services in the economy. There has also been a longer trend of employers cutting full-time jobs as a cost-cutting maneuver, which often backfires (more on this shortly).

If Obamacare were a big factor in worker hours, there would have been a significant increase in the trend as we move closer to implementation. But that hasn’t happened. In fact, one ginormous employer, Walmart, which had been trending toward hiring temp workers to avoid the ACA, just announced that 35,000 part-time employees will soon be moved to full-time status. Apparently, Walmart is learning that short-term cost-cutting shenanigans can eventually impact your brand and your customer satisfaction as service decreases and stores fall into disarray. Walmart execs were starting to see people shop elsewhere, so they've changed their tune.

It’s also true that many titans of the retailer industry, which includes a roster of rabid right-wingers, have vehemently opposed the ACA from the start and will bring any negative attention they can. They have not yet gotten the memo from Walmart that the negative attention may end up falling on themselves.

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1. Stores compete when their is good service. Walmart usually has NO service

other than the folks who stock shelves.

I do not shop Walmart but my mom has difficulty getting in and out of the car and the only place like that is the local walmart unfortunately--and she likes to see what is available--you know--hold the lettuce or melon before she puts it in the cart--etc.