Reply #28: Our new MalWart can't find enough employees [View All]

[harpboy_ak]

I guess Juneau, Alaska must be the last town of 30,000 in the US to get a MalWart, and they haven't been able to find enough people who will work at their slave wages to fully staff the store. I haven't been in the store (and will never ever go in) but folks who have tell me that the shelves are never fully stocked. I understand that they haven't been able to fill more than 2/3 of the positions authorized by MalWart HQ.

Why? Because the cost of living here is 25% above Seattle. The store is located across the road from Juneau's largest mobile home park (they bought the former KMart store, vacated after KMart closed all its Alaskan stores). A 2 BR single wide mobile home there rents for around $1200/mo, and tenants pay all utilities. Last winter fuel oil was $3.15/gallon, regular gas $3.39/gal. A basic ranch style home here costs at least $250K. Stores here have to pay at least $14/hr to get someone who is barely functionally literate.

Plus this is a strong union town, the state capital, where the major employer is the state government, and even the locally owned grocery stores offer health insurance. Our educational level is way above the national average, more similar to a large university town (back in the 80s, it was right behind Cambridge, MA & Palo Alto).

I estimate that at least 35% of Juneau residents decided before the store opened that they would never go in it, though they were quick to patronize Costco when it opened, and the new Home Depot did a land office business this summer, in part because those big box retailers are known for fairly compensating their employees.

I'm predicting they won't last 2 years before they just fold their tent and leave. With these demographics, this store just won't make their required numbers.