Corporate Responsibility

The Kroger Co. is hiring to fill an estimated 10,000 permanent positions in its supermarket divisions.   The company also announced that its total active workforce grew by more than 12,000 associates in 2016. Over the last eight years, Kroger has created more than 86,000 permanent, new jobs. (The total does not include jobs created as a result of capital investment, such as temporary construction jobs, nor do they include increases due to the company's mergers. Kroger and its subsidiaries today employ more than 443,000 associates.

Starbucks Corp. is upgrading its U.S. paid parental leave plan as it seeks to hire and retain workers in an increasingly competitive labor market.    Effective Oct. 1, eligible store associates who are birth mothers will be entitled to six weeks of paid leave at 100% up from 67% average pay previously, and 12 weeks of unpaid leave.   Store associates who are non-birth parents (including fathers, spouses and foster and adoptive parents) can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.    

CVC Capital Partners has agreed to sell Leslie's Holdings to L Catterton and an affiliate of GIC.       The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.   Founded in 1963, Leslie's is the world's largest retailer of swimming pool supplies and related products.   

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer with nearly 1.5 million associates, plans to add 10,000 new retail jobs in its upcoming fiscal year, which begins on February 1, 2017.   The discounter says the new jobs will be created through the opening of 59 new, expanded and relocated Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities as well as e-commerce services.    

L.L. Bean has been drawn into something that it has always shied away: the political spotlight.      It all started with the news that Linda Bean, granddaughter of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean and a member of the Bean board, had made a substantial donation to a pro-Trump PAC during the president-elect's campaign. Trump then thanked Bean for her support via a tweet that ended with “Buy L.L.Bean.”     

Move over Alibaba — Amazon has a new jobs plan too, one with more details and a more immediate window of opportunity.   

Technology is transforming the retail landscape as we know it. The Census Bureau estimates that U.S. online retail sales were $97.3 million in second quarter 2016, a 15.8% increase from the previous year. According to Forrester, that growth is expected to continue with U.S. online retail sales anticipated to exceed $520 billion by 2020. Globally, online sales are growing three-times faster than GDP.  

Wal-Mart Stores is reportedly planning a major round of job layoffs by the end of this month.   The retailer will eliminate positions at its headquarters and among regional personnel that support stores, the Wall Street Journal reported.