Walmart

==Criticism and controversies==
{{Main|Criticism of Walmart}}
Walmart has been subject to criticism from various groups and individuals, including [[labor union]]s, community groups, [[grassroots]] organizations, religious organizations, environmental groups, firearm groups, and the company's own customers and employees. They have protested against the company's policies and business practices, including charges of racial and gender discrimination.<ref name="mkabel">Kabel, Marcus. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071800981.html Wal-Mart, Critics Slam Each Other on Web] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525061530/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071800981.html |date=May 25, 2017 }}". ''The Washington Post''. July 18, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref><ref>Sellers, Jeff M. (April 22, 2005). "[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/116/52.0.html Women Against Wal-Mart] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121092201/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/116/52.0.html |date=November 21, 2008 }}". ''Christianity Today''. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref><ref>Sellers, Jeff M. (April 22, 2005). "[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/005/17.40.html Deliver Us from Wal-Mart?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013214512/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/005/17.40.html |date=October 13, 2008 }}". ''Christianity Today''. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref> Other areas of criticism include the company's foreign product sourcing, treatment of suppliers, employee compensation and working conditions, environmental practices, [[corporate welfare|the use of public subsidies]], [[Labor spies#Wal-Mart surveillance of employees|the company's security policies]], and [[slavery]].<ref>Norman, Al (2004). ''The Case Against Wal-Mart''. Raphel Marketing, p. 7. {{ISBN|0-9711542-3-6}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour |title = Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK |last1 = Hodal |first1 = Kate |first2 = Chris |last2 = Kelly |first3 = Felicity |last3 = Lawrence |date = June 10, 2014 |newspaper = The Guardian |quote = Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, buys fishmeal, which it feeds to its farmed prawns, from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves. … CP Foods admits that slave labour is part of its supply chain. |access-date = June 11, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140611032723/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour |archive-date = June 11, 2014}}</ref> Walmart denies doing anything wrong and maintains that low prices are the result of efficiency.<ref>Copeland, Larry. (March 13, 2006). "[https://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2006-03-15-young-walmart-usat_x.htm Wal-Mart's hired advocate takes flak] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905062401/http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2006-03-15-young-walmart-usat_x.htm |date=September 5, 2012 }}". ''USA Today''. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref><ref>Rodino Associates. (October 28, 2003). "[http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/houscommecdev/cd13houscommecdev239629107_04262005.pdf Final Report on Research for Big Box Retail/Superstore Ordinance]". Los Angeles City Council. Retrieved July 31, 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326214712/http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/houscommecdev/cd13houscommecdev239629107_04262005.pdf |date=March 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>Smith, Hedrick. "[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/shots.html Who Calls the Shots in the Global Economy?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525050919/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/shots.html |date=May 25, 2017 }}" PBS. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref>

In April 2016, Walmart announced that it plans to eliminate eggs from [[battery cage]]s from its supply chain by 2025.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://time.com/4282952/walmart-eggs-cage-free/|title=Walmart Will Sell Completely Cage-Free Eggs by 2025|author=Chan, Melissa|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816220136/http://time.com/4282952/walmart-eggs-cage-free/|archive-date=August 16, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=August 4, 2016}}</ref> The decision was particularly important because of Walmart's large [[market share]] and influence on the rest of the industry.<ref name="FortuneEgg">{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/walmart-vow-cage-free-eggs/|title=Walmart Is the Latest Retailer to Make a Cage-Free Egg Vow|author=Kell, John|work=Fortune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703042107/http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/walmart-vow-cage-free-eggs/|archive-date=July 3, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=August 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="BloombergEgg">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/wal-mart-will-sell-100-cage-free-eggs-by-2025-in-industry-shift|title=Wal-Mart Will Switch to All Cage-Free Eggs by 2025|last=Turner|first=Nick|date=April 5, 2016|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811172221/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/wal-mart-will-sell-100-cage-free-eggs-by-2025-in-industry-shift|archive-date=August 11, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=August 11, 2016}}</ref> The move was praised by major [[animal welfare]] groups<ref name="Modern Farmer">{{cite web|url=http://modernfarmer.com/2016/04/walmart-cage-free-eggs/|title=Walmart Vows to Purchase All Eggs from Cage-Free Sources By 2025|author=Amelinckx, Andrew|date=April 13, 2016|publisher=Modern Farmer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817182424/http://modernfarmer.com/2016/04/walmart-cage-free-eggs/|archive-date=August 17, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=August 4, 2016}}</ref> but a poultry trade group representative expressed skepticism about the decision's impact.<ref name="Modern Farmer"/> Walmart's cage-free eggs will not come from [[free range]] producers, but rather [[factory farming|industrial-scale farms]] where the birds will be allotted between 1 and 1.5 square feet each, a stressful arrangement which can cause [[cannibalism in poultry|cannibalism]].<ref name="FortuneEgg"/><ref name="Modern Farmer"/> Unlike battery cages, the systems of Walmart's suppliers allow the hens to move around, but relative to battery cages they have higher hen mortality rates and present distinct environmental and worker health problems.<ref name="NYT Gelles">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/business/eggs-that-clear-the-cages-but-maybe-not-the-conscience.html |title=Eggs That Clear the Cages, but Maybe Not the Conscience|author=Gelles, David|work=The New York Times|date=July 16, 2016 |access-date=August 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722092649/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/business/eggs-that-clear-the-cages-but-maybe-not-the-conscience.html |archive-date=July 22, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2018, Walmart was sued by former Director of Business Development Tri Huynh for claims of reporting misleading e-commerce performance results in favor of the company. Huynh stated the company's move was an attempt to regain lost ground to competitor [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/whistle-blower-claims-walmart-cheated-in-race-with-amazon/|title=Whistle-blower claims Walmart cheated in race with Amazon|work=Seattle Times|date=March 15, 2018|access-date=November 8, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616182540/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/whistle-blower-claims-walmart-cheated-in-race-with-amazon/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2018, Walmart was sued by [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] alleging that Walmart denied requests from pregnant employees to limit heavy lifting.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/09/24/502120.htm|title=U.S. Lawsuit Accuses Walmart of Bias Against Pregnant Employees|date=September 24, 2018|work=Insurance Journal|access-date=September 25, 2018|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616172939/https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/09/24/502120.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2019, the [[Center for Inquiry]] filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia alleging consumer fraud and the endangering of its customers' health due to Walmart's practice of "selling [[Homeopathy|homeopathic [products]]] alongside real medicine, in the same sections in its stores, under the same signs", according to Nicholas Little, CFI's vice president and general counsel.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fidalgo |first1=Paul |year=2019 |title=CFI Sues Walmart for Fraud for Selling Homeopathic Fake Medicine |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |volume=43 |issue=5 |page=5 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2019/05/31/americas-largest-retailer-sued-for-selling-fake-medicine/|title=America's Largest Retailer Sued For Selling Fake Medicine|last=Fisher|first=Nicole|website=Forbes|access-date=October 12, 2019|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221223415/https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2019/05/31/americas-largest-retailer-sued-for-selling-fake-medicine/|url-status=live}}</ref> On May 20, 2020, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Florence Pan dismissed CFI's lawsuit, claiming that CFI had no standing as a consumer protection organization and failed to identify the specific actions on the part of Walmart that led to harm to consumers. CFI has challenged both of those arguments and is planning an appeal.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September–October 2020 |title=Judge Dismisses CFI Suit Against Walmart On Homeopathy; Appeal Planned |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |access-date=}}</ref>

In July 2019, the Walmart [[subreddit]] was flooded with pro-union memes in a protest to the firing of an employee who posted confidential material to the subreddit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/walmart-employees-post-union-memes-to-mess-with-corporate.html|title=Walmart Workers Realize Corporate Is Spying on Them, Retaliate With Union Memes|last=Feldman|first=Brian|date=July 12, 2019|website=Intelligencer|access-date=July 13, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108004540/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/walmart-employees-post-union-memes-to-mess-with-corporate.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mb8y9a/the-walmart-subreddit-has-been-flooded-with-pro-union-memes|title=The Walmart Subreddit Has Been Flooded With Pro-Union Memes|last1=Ongweso|first1=Edward Jr|last2=Koebler|first2=Jason|date=July 11, 2019|website=Vice|access-date=July 13, 2019|archive-date=July 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713035842/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mb8y9a/the-walmart-subreddit-has-been-flooded-with-pro-union-memes|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of these posts were angry with Walmart surveying its staff on the Internet. The posting of the union content is in response to the aforementioned alleged anti-union position Walmart has taken in the past.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/walmart-subreddit-union-memes-employee-benefits-1448795|title=Why Walmart employees are flooding its subreddit with pro-union memes|first=Andrew|last=Whalen|date=July 11, 2019|website=Newsweek|access-date=July 13, 2019|archive-date=December 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212170037/https://www.newsweek.com/walmart-subreddit-union-memes-employee-benefits-1448795|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2021, a federal jury found that Walmart, along with [[Walgreens]] and [[CVS Health|CVS]], "had substantially contributed to" the [[Opioid epidemic|opioid crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hoffman|first=Jan|date=November 23, 2021|title=CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Fueled Opioid Crisis, Jury Finds|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/health/walmart-cvs-opioid-lawsuit-verdict.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/health/walmart-cvs-opioid-lawsuit-verdict.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=December 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The damages between the three chains in this suit totalled $650&nbsp;million. Damages claimed by the lawyers for [[Lake County, Ohio|Lake County]] and [[Trumbull County, Ohio|Trumbull County]] in [[Ohio]] were $3.3&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Walgreens, Walmart and CVS ordered to pay $650 million over opioid sales |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/walgreens-walmart-cvs-ordered-pay-650-million-opioid-sales-rcna43698 |access-date=August 20, 2022 |website=NBC News |date=August 18, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=August 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820164340/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/walgreens-walmart-cvs-ordered-pay-650-million-opioid-sales-rcna43698 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2022, the [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC) sued Walmart, alleging that the company facilitated money transfer fraud by allowing its money transfer services to be used by scammers who stole hundreds of millions of dollars from customers.<ref>{{Cite news |title=FTC sues Walmart, alleging it let scammers access money transfer service |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/06/29/walmart-ftc-lawsuit-money-transfer-fraud/ |access-date=July 27, 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809231216/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/06/29/walmart-ftc-lawsuit-money-transfer-fraud/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=June 29, 2022 |title=The FTC sues Walmart for failing to block scammers' money transfers |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/29/1108562327/walmart-money-transfer-scammers-federal-trade-commission-lawsuit |access-date=July 27, 2022 |archive-date=July 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727192547/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/29/1108562327/walmart-money-transfer-scammers-federal-trade-commission-lawsuit |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Crime problems===
According to an August 2016 report by ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'', aggressive cost-cutting decisions that began in 2000 when Lee Scott took over as CEO of the company led to a significant increase in crime in stores across the United States. These included the removal of the store's famed greeters, who are in part seen as a theft deterrent at exits, the replacement of many cashiers with self-checkout stations, and the addition of stores at a rate that exceeded the hiring of new employees, which led to a 19% increase in space per employee from a decade previous. While these decisions succeeded in increasing profits 23% in the decade that followed, they also led to an increase in both theft and violent crime.<ref name=":1"/><ref name="Crowley"/>

In 2015, under CEO [[Doug McMillon]], Walmart began a company-wide campaign to reduce crime that included spot-checking receipts at exits, stationing employees at self-checkout areas, eye-level security cameras in high-theft areas, use of data analytics to detect credit fraud, hiring off-duty police and private security officers, and reducing calls to police with a program by which first-time offenders caught stealing merchandise below a certain value can avoid arrest if they agree to go through a theft-prevention program.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url = https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-walmart-crime/ |title = Walmart's Out-of-Control Crime Problem is Driving Police Crazy |last = Pettypiece |first = Shannon |magazine = Bloomberg Businessweek |date = August 17, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160818000539/https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-walmart-crime/ |archive-date = August 18, 2016}}</ref>

Law enforcement agencies across the United States have noted a burden on resources created by a disproportionate number of calls from Walmart. Experts have criticized the retailer for shifting its security burden onto the taxpayers.<ref name="Crowley"/> Across three Florida counties, approximately 9,000 police calls were logged to 53 Walmart stores but resulted in only a few hundred arrests.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/public-safety/walmart-police/|title=Tampa Bay Walmarts get thousands of police calls leaving taxpayers to pay the bill.|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201826/http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/public-safety/walmart-police/|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Granite Falls, North Carolina]], 92% of [[larceny]] calls to local police were from the Walmart store.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9-investigates/walmart-has-become-crime-magnet-in-many-north-carolina-cities/695879615|title=Walmart has become crime magnet in many North Carolina cities|last=Faherty|first=Dave|date=February 9, 2018|publisher=WSOC|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211082801/http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9-investigates/walmart-has-become-crime-magnet-in-many-north-carolina-cities/695879615|url-status=live}}</ref> The trend is similar in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Police are called to Walmart stores 3 to 4 times as much as similar retailers such as Target.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/news/crime-and-courts/4303214-analysis-police-called-disproportionately-walmart-stores|title=Analysis: Police called disproportionately to Walmart stores|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213021643/http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/news/crime-and-courts/4303214-analysis-police-called-disproportionately-walmart-stores|url-status=dead}}</ref> Experts say the chain and its razor-thin profit margins rely heavily on police to protect its bottom line. Walmart Supercenters top the list of those most visited by police.<ref name=":2"/>

In addition to hundreds of thousands of petty crimes, more than 200 violent crimes, including attempted kidnappings, stabbings, shootings, and murders occurred at the 4,500 Walmarts in the U.S. in 2016.<ref name=":1"/> In 2019, 23 people were killed in a [[2019 El Paso shooting|mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas]].<ref name="Curbs"/><ref name="NYT23"/>

On June 27, 2020, a shooting occurred at a Walmart distribution center in [[Red Bluff, California]], United States. One employee was killed and the shooter was killed by officers.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Gross|first1=Jenny|last2=Fazio|first2=Marie|date=June 27, 2020|title=2 Dead in Shooting at Walmart Distribution Center in California, Official Says|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/27/us/walmart-shooting-red-bluff-california.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628003004/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/27/us/walmart-shooting-red-bluff-california.html |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=June 28, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Two dead, four injured in Walmart distribution center shooting|date=June 28, 2020|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-dead-four-injured-walmart-distribution-center-shooting-n1232348|access-date=June 28, 2020|publisher=NBC News|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217234937/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-dead-four-injured-walmart-distribution-center-shooting-n1232348|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Angelo |first=Bob |title=2 killed, 4 injured in shooting at Walmart distribution center in California|url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/least-3-injured-shooting-walmart-california/GXCU5YELERH3NIHV7YLS73IS7Y/|access-date=June 28, 2020|publisher=KIRO|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919031831/https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/least-3-injured-shooting-walmart-california/GXCU5YELERH3NIHV7YLS73IS7Y/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 27, 2020|title=2 Dead In Shooting At Walmart Distribution Center In Red Bluff, Authorities Say|url=https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/06/27/reports-of-active-shooter-at-walmart-distribution-center-in-red-bluff/|access-date=June 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002133901/https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/06/27/reports-of-active-shooter-at-walmart-distribution-center-in-red-bluff/|url-status=live}}</ref>