(Reuters) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would no longer provide health benefits to some part-time workers in the United States due to ballooning health care costs.
The company said on Monday it would stop health benefits for part-time associates who work less than 30 hours. The move is expected to impact about 2% of the company's workforce, the company said in a blog post.
Wal-Mart cut its full-year profit forecast in August, citing higher employee benefit costs, among other things.
The company said then that it expected to spend $500 million on U.S. health care this year, up from $330 million estimated in February, as enrollments and medical costs rise.
(Reuters) — The entanglement of H.J. Heinz Co. in China's latest food scare highlights a key concern for international and local firms: how to keep track of ingredients from diverse sources in a country where food supply tracing technologies are far from the norm.