Walmart cuts hours at 300 of its 24-hour stores

Walmart is getting lean this summer.

The Bentonville, Ark., company quietly slashed the hours at 300 of its 24-hour stores in August — closing them during the graveyard shift for five or six hours “to allow the stores to be in great condition during peak shopping hours,” said spokesman Brian Nick.

As a result, some of those overnight workers were offered severance packages or invited to transfer to other nearby stores, Nick said. Others were asked to tidy up and restock the stores during the wee morning hours.

Union officials say Walmart is simply taking away with one hand — hours from store workers — what it gave workers with the other in April, that is, a raise to $9 an hour.

The changes are too new to calculate how many workers were affected, Nick said. He noted that 35 people may work a graveyard shift.

At the same time, Walmart recently informed its store managers to adhere to strict scheduling requirements, which has resulted in some staffers being asked to work fewer hours.