So Trump and his minions have been bragging all day about their beautiful tax plan.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin sang Trump’s praises, sidestepping the store closures and remarking instead on the number of companies who had promised to increase wages and issue one-time cash bonuses in the wake of the tax bill.

“Different companies will do different things,” he said, when asked whether it was fair to attribute the wage increases to Trump, but not the layoffs. “Some companies will invest capital. Some companies will return money to workers. Lots of things are going on in the economy and we appreciate what Walmart’s doing.



“The tax law is already having an incredible impact on workers and families,” Sarah Sanders said, unprompted, referencing the GOP tax bill, which Trump signed in December. “This is only the beginning of what people have to look forward to in the Trump economy.”Walmart quietly lays off thousands of workers after bonus announcement Source: Think Progress

Thursday morning, Walmart had a flashy announcement: Thanks to corporate tax cuts, it was giving its employees bonuses of up to $1,000. Walmart and President Trump pointed to the announcement as proof that the corporate tax cuts are really a boon to working-class Americans.

This announcement, as ThinkProgress reported earlier, was much more complicated than it first sounds.

But now it appears the announcement was timed carefully to cover for thousands of unannounced layoffs.

Business Insider reports that today, Walmart is abruptly closing numerous Sam’s Clubs stores across the United States. In some cases “employees were not informed of the closures prior to showing up to work on Thursday” and “learned that their store would be closing when they found the store’s doors locked and a notice announcing the closure.”

 

Last edited by DollyLongstaff (1/11/2018 4:55 pm)