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Retail giant Wal-Mart announced plans earlier this week to lay off more than 11,000 employees working at its Sam’s Club subsidiary. The massive staff reduction comes at a time when the U.S. economy remains in the grips of a jobless “recovery.” A majority of the layoffs affect those employed as “product samplers” at the warehouse chain. Sam’s Club CEO and President Brian Cornell said in a statement that the company will be outsourcing the jobs to Shopper Events, a third-party employer in marketing. The move was described by Cornell as an “investment” for in-store promotions as opposed to a “cost-cutting measure.” He then went on to say that those laid off by Sam’s Club would be invited to apply for the roughly same number of positions offered by Shoppers Events. The massive job cuts announced by the company to its workforce in a meeting on Sunday raise serious questions as to whether or not they were unfairly aimed at elderly employees. Those eligible for severance packages were reportedly instructed to agree to not pursue age discrimination claims in exchange for their benefits.

GUEST: Evan Yates, Spokesperson with United Food and Commercial Workers

For more information, visit www.walmartworkersforchange.org, and www.wakeupwalmart.com, or call 1-866-587-2299.