Over the past five years Wal-Mart has reduced its overall U.S. workforce by about 120,000 while simultaneously opening new stores. This has led to customer complaints regarding stocking and customer service, which has had an adverse impact on sales. In order to recapture those sales, this holiday season Wal-Mart will be hiring even more seasonal workers than last year, promoting more temporary workers to part-time, and promoting more part-time workers to full-time. Many of the promoted employees will become eligible for benefits sooner.
See "Wal-Mart Hires Workers for Holidays Amid Shelf Complaints", Renee Dudley, Bloomberg News, September 23, 2013