Red Lobster Goes Bankrupt, Walmart Slashes Workforce Because Bidenomics Is So Great

Walmart will cut "hundreds" of jobs thanks to an economic miracle experts are calling "the Biden Boost."

They're also cutting benefits for the remaining employees.

Walmart announces significant job cuts and relocation demands amidst escalating operating costs, signaling a strategic retreat from ambitious healthcare ventures and remote work flexibility.

Walmart is slashing hundreds of corporate jobs and is asking employees in smaller offices to relocate to central hubs such as Bentonville, Hoboken, and Northern California, while maintaining partial remote work options.

The retail giant closed all 51 of its health clinics last year, citing unsustainable operating costs and a challenging reimbursement environment, abandoning plans to expand to 75 clinics by 2024.

As part of a broader cost-cutting initiative, Walmart is prioritizing investments in other areas, potentially as a response to shifting market demands and economic pressures.

I will miss you, Red Lobster. I will especially miss your Fisherman's Feast Platter, and how I would ask for all fried clam strips and you wouldn't judge me.

Red Lobster has abruptly closed dozens of restaurants across the country.

A look at the restaurant chain's website reveals 87 stores temporarily closed across 27 states, with some of them having their kitchen equipment up for auction on an online restaurant liquidator.

The liquidator, TAGeX Brands, announced Monday it is auctioning off equipment this week from 48 locations that have closed. The website says auctions are live and will end periodically on Thursday, and that each winner will receive the "entire contents of the Red Lobster location they bid on."

USA TODAY reached out to Red Lobster on Tuesday and did not get a response prior to publication.

Fast food restaurants are being smashed by Bidenflation.

Experts say Americans are now spending over $70 billion monthly on dining out instead of sticking to the traditional routine of eating at home. While this highlights a flourishing restaurant industry, local mom-and-pop shops are grappling with economic challenges, dealing with problems like inflation and road construction.

One such establishment, Pepe's Mexican Cafe in Bryan, has been a community fixture since 1969. Well-known for serving quality food at affordable prices, Pepe's, like other small businesses, is grappling with the economic pinch. Kip Martin, who manages the family-owned business, recently took to social media to express his concerns. His video has since been shared over 250 times.

"I just need you guys to know that if you want there to be a Pepe's you need to come buy a taco, I'm not kidding," Martin said.

Inflation emerges as a significant factor, driving up costs across the board, including food prices, which has resulted in a decline in sales for Pepe's.

"I'll tell you this, Pepe's is hanging by a shoestring," said Martin. "We did less in sales this year than we did last year and that's after having to take a price increase in the meantime."

McDonald's sees the belt-tightening going on and tries to keep market share by bringing back a $5 meal option.

McDonald's is seemingly fighting to attract customers one deal at a time.

McDonald's has faced criticism as prices soared in recent years, resulting in less revenue from lower-income consumers and reduced foot traffic in stores. As a result, Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said in a late April first-quarter earnings call that McDonald's has to be "laser-focused on affordability."

McDonald's has since promised a reduction in prices and expressed interest in exploring more avenues to win customers back, which could include $5 meal deals, according to reports.

My suspicion is that they're going to offer the $5 meals as a loss leader and cover for drastically reducing staff and automating wherever possible. So that the public will have two competing stories in mind: Gee McDonald's is mean for replacing everyone with robots, but also, Gee McDonald's is nice for offering, temporarily, $5 meals.

Going out to dinner is increasingly something that only the wealthy do regularly.

We'll all soon be on economy-forced diets. Thanks, Biden!

What's for dinner? For an increasing number of Americans, especially households making less than $150,000 a year, the answer doesn't involve going to a restaurant. And when people do go out to eat, they are spending less money.

Battered by higher-than-normal food prices, some consumers are pulling back on their spending -- and restaurants are feeling the effects.

Dine Brands Global Inc. DIN, -0.28%, the owner of the pancake chain IHOP and restaurant chain Applebee's, said in its earnings call Wednesday that fewer consumers earning $50,000 a year and below visited its restaurants in the past quarter. Even when they do, they are "more aggressively" managing the amount they spend, Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told investors.

Although some higher-income guests have traded down to eat at the company's cheaper restaurants, behavioral changes are most pronounced among lower-income consumers, he said. "[T]he most impactful change in consumer behavior is clearly the $50,000 and below segment," Peyton said on the call. Dine Brands Global did not immediately respond to MarketWatch's request for comment.

While lower-income Americans are dining out less -- even at fast-food restaurants -- higher-income Americans are dining out more.

Darden Restaurants DRI, 1.53%, the owner of Olive Garden and the Capital Grille, said on a March earnings call that visits from diners earning more than $150,000 a year were higher during its last quarter than they were at the same time the previous year, while visits from diners with an annual income below $75,000 declined "at every brand," said Ricardo Cardenas, president and chief executive officer of Darden Restaurants. The shift was most pronounced in Darden's fine-dining segment, he said.

In fact, nationally, only diners from households earning over $200,000 a year spent money in restaurants more often in 2023 than they did in 2019, according to Circana data. Diners from families earning below $45,000 with kids pulled back on their restaurant spending the most, Circana found.

To be sure, people are still dining out, but the accumulated financial pressures from the past four years are hitting them, said David Portalatin, food industry analyst and senior vice president at Circana.

"In 2024, inflation is the dominant narrative," he told MarketWatch. That's part of the reason lower-income families with kids are trimming their spending the most. When you need to feed a family of four, "there's a little sticker shock at the end of the meal," Portalatin said.

Update:

26% increase.

They just removed coffee from the Consumer Price Index, because the price of coffee was going up too fast.

Because no one drinks coffee.

Posted by: The ARC of History!

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:06 PM

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